DC Gothic - Justice League
by gothicjedi666
Summary: The follow up of DC Gothic - Teen Titans. Gothic is now in the Justice League and is attempting to settle into his new life alongside Kara (Supergirl) But things don't always go smoothly for our sort of hero. The Traveller once more decides to amuse himself, by messing with his favourite person. Also Raven and her goddess have plans of their own. (Now Finished)
1. Chapter 1

**DC Gothic - Mae'r Ddraig Gymreig**

**Metropolis – Downtown – October 2002 **

There was a good reason why so many people lived in Gotham. It might have a major crime problem to say the least, but that did keep the house prices down and you didn't have to worry so much about super beings destroying your home or place of business. In contrast Metropolis, even in the poorer neighbourhoods, enjoyed a much lower crime rate. However repeatedly rebuilding entire city blocks was expensive and the home insurance rates kept more than a few people up at night. Sure you might not need to worry about getting mugged or robbed so much in Metropolis, but at least in Gotham you didn't have Supergirl unexpectedly dropping by via the brand new hole in the roof. Not that people minded the Maid of Might visiting their homes, but did she really have use the new wide-screen plasma TV to bash in a monster's skull?

'_Where's my boyfriend when I need him _' Kara wondered as she flew out of house she had just partly trashed _'He actually likes killing evil creatures, or maybe it's just his wallet I need, that fancy TV looked brand new'._

Supergirl felt it was just a little immoral for her partner to use Slade Wilson's vast wealth, as it was all blood money, but although there were times when having a millionaire around could be really handy. It took less time for him to write a cheque than did for Kara to wreak a house. Which was saying something as she could trash a home really fast if she had a mind to. Not that doing so had ever been any sort of plan, but on days like this it did seem to happen.

Then there were the shoes. She really did love having a closet full of shoes, and best of all she didn't have to pay for them. It did strike her then that she was being a little ungrateful about that, turning your boyfriend into a walking cash machine was not a good thing, but what the hell he'd only spend the money on his own assassin robots and other silly boy stuff. Besides she did wear a lot of the clothes his money brought for him. The look on his face had totally made it worth the expense when he'd seen in her that two hundred-dollar leather miniskirt that came with matching boots.

Anyway she'd make it up to him and build him that silly laser sword he wanted next time she was at the fortress. That was going to be one hell of a birthday gift. Hopefully he'd find it as cool as the ones she seen in those goofy movies he seemed to love so much.

Kara could think about this sort of thing even when bashing heads, but it was always a good idea to try to totally focus on your surroundings, so that was what she did.

"Jo'nn" I could really use some help down here" requested Supergirl as another wave of Parademons were spat out of an opening boomtube.

This was going to take up her whole day, she just knew it. _Stupid evil creatures from the stars!_

"Everyone is busy" informed the Man Hunter as Kara shot down many of the newest invaders with her heat vision "the civil war on Apokolips has spilled over onto Earth. There are parademons all over the west coast. Superman and the Flash are busy uptown. Wonder Woman is assisting Batman in Gotham. Shayera is leading a team in Washington D.C in case they spread that far and Green Lantern is dealing with a large group near Westbury, along with Vixen".

Jo'nn didn't like having couples on teams, but as founding member Jon Stewart aka Green Lantern had the right to choose his own team.

This was also why Gothic wasn't with Kara right now, well that and the fact that the League didn't want someone they thought of as dangerously unpredictable to run around unsupervised. Which was funny to her, because she found him to be very predictable.

"Just get him down here Jo'nn" Supergirl said as she batted aside a parademon who had been trying to sneak up on her "I can't take down these many bad guys without going full throttle, and I don't think you want to lose an entire city block".

Well she could take them out without that much property damage, but there were a lot of homes in this part of the city, and if the monsters were here to grab slaves then she might not be able to stop people from being taken while also fighting hundreds of enemies.

"Well he is standing on the teleporter pad" justified the alien overseer "and I suppose he does need to test out his new armour".

The man from Mars wasn't just being stubborn. The former leader of the Teen Titans hadn't yet been cleared for duty. In fact he hadn't even gone through induction yet or had his physical, so there were good reasons as to why he wasn't already here.

_But there are also good reasons for him to be here _Supergirl thought as she thumped another enemy hard enough on the head that the creature's head cracked the concrete as it fell _if nothing else I'm really going to need a hug after all of this fighting._

"You know that armour does have an inbuilt flame thrower" Kara casually informed "I'm not saying he'd use it on you, but you know how he gets when he can't protect one of his girls".

Not that she needed protection, but it was nice to think that there was someone out there who didn't think of her as little more than a female version of Superman. It made her feel more like a normal girl. Well as normal as a girl who can crush cars with her bare hands could feel.

"Very well" said the alien "I will beam him down".

"Good" she replied "tell him the leash is off since this is an invasion".

Gothic would understand this meant the didn't have to worry about not killing. They weren't here to arrest anyone, they had to repel these attacks, and if that meant using lethal force then that was okay with her. The other members of the League might not approve but she'd once been under Darkseid's control, so she knew exactly what would happen to the people the Parademons carried off. Better to kill the monsters as quickly as possible so that others would be spared their gruesome fate.

Gothic arrived not a moment to soon, another boomtube opened, and this time it wasn't just parademons that poured out.

(Line Break)

**Metropolis – Downtown – October 2002 **

"Granny Goodness!" snarled Supergirl, who was no doubt remembering the torments that she had suffered while under the 'care' of that evil woman.

Assuming my information was correct Granny Goodness was an inhabitant of the planet Apokolips and the commander of the Female Furies, who were Darksied's élite guards. While 'granny' had the mannerisms of a kindly old lady, she was in fact a cruel tormentor of children and one of Darkseid's most loyal lieutenants. So if I had my way she was going to die here today, and if she was very lucky it would be a quick death.

"Parademons attack!" ordered Granny as she blasted Kara with an energy weapon some kind.

I would have worried about my girlfriend if not for the heat beams that raced past me to blast the rod-shaped device Goodness was carrying into little pieces. Not that I had time to worry as I was soon under attack. The armour I was using was new so I didn't fully know what it could do and if I had to find out it was better to try it out on these monsters than to accidentally hurt an ally.

Using the flame thrower I set a load of parademons alight with white-hot fire. The monsters died easily enough and since everything around me was made of concrete nothing else caught fire. I might have melted parts a few lampposts but that was nothing in comparison to the lives the creatures would have taken if I hadn't been around to stop them.

Everything seemed to be going quite well. Kara's heat vision and my flame thrower swiftly dealt with the parademons who had foolish tried to rush us rather than spread out. An act which only hastened their demise.

That was when things got worse.

Out of the still open boomtube came Kalibak. A being who had superhuman levels strength and resilience, no doubt thanks to his heritage as Darkseid's son. Who is mother was I hadn't a clue, but I didn't think that she had been attractive women given her son's looks.

Ugly features aside Kalibak was a deadly foe. In past battles, he had been a match for Wonder Woman, but I wasn't too worried as the freak had been defeated multiple times by Superman and even once by the bounty hunter, and fellow rocker, the Main Man Lobo. Which meant Supergirl should be able to handle him.

Even so, I was a little concerned as Lobo had needed to put a dozen cars on top of Kalibak in order to make him surrender. Then again this guy's fighting skills were limited to feats of brute strength, and he wasn't very bright either.

I grew more than a merely a little concerned when the monster landed on top of me and started to bash my chest with his massive fists. It didn't hurt because the dragon themed power armour I wore was just that awesome, but it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience either.

Of course Kalibak's time here on Earth became a lot less pleasant when I set his greasy hair on fire. It was very funny to see him running about screaming, even if I was to busy trying to stand up to get to fully enjoy the sight. Sadly it didn't last either as the massive moron showed a glimmer of intelligence when he ripped a fire hydrant out the ground. The fountain of water soaked him enough to put the flames out.

"I will smash your bones for that" Kalibak threatened as he prepared to attack me.

He tackled me and he was strong that I ended up half embedded in the wall of someone's business. My armour's system were really being tested and I was oh so grateful to my girlfriend for building this thing as without I'd be red paste by now.

With it on I barely felt anything and it also gave me the means to free myself. The flame thrower built into the left arm of the suit wouldn't help me, but the right arm was a different story. Not only was the angle of the arm better positioned but it also contained something called a fusion blaster. I had no idea what that was. However I found effective it was when the energy bolt struck Kalibak in the foot made him hop up and down in another amusing scene.

Again I didn't get enjoy it for long, however this time it was my choice as I had quickly decided that I should press the attack. The suit followed commands the same way the muscles of my body did, so the armour and my body moved as one. The strength enhancers in the suit allowed me to land a series of mighty blows upon my foe. The son of Darkseid was driven to his knees and I was just about to slam both of my metal covered fists into his head when suddenly Kalibak delivered a powerful uppercut which sent me flying. I would have landed, but the suit's dragon like wings shoot out and the inbuilt jet pack activated so that I ended up floating in the air.

Kalibak couldn't take to the air, however he could throw things really well. As I discovered when a car came right at me. Without even thinking about it I caught the airborne vehicle and threw it back at my enemy. That was when I realised that I hadn't checked if it was empty or not. Thankfully it was and this was proven as after the car had hit Kalibak, he broke it in two and I saw that no one was in it.

The two pieces of the wreaked auto-mobile were then thrown at me, but I batted them aside and then opened fire with the fusion blaster. Darkseid's son was tough, but not invulnerable so the weapon did hurt him. But I had to stop firing when the display in the helmet warned me that the gun was overheating. Apparently the weapon's system in this suit of powered armour were not lethal enough to end a fight like this. Which made sense as the suit was suppose to let me work alongside the bit hitters in the League not to let me kill super beings.

"Get down here, so I can crush you" demanded Kalibak

I did in fact get down there. The jet pack flared and I rammed right into my foe with enough speed that I knocked him into a wall hard enough to spread cracks across all along the concrete surface.

Kalibak didn't recover as fast this time, so I got to punch him some more. I didn't actually intend to kill the alien, only to beat him senseless, if he happened to die in the process then I was okay with that, but then he did something rather unexpected: he moved with far greater speed than I would of imagined and somehow got me into a headlock.

I tried to free myself but the alien was also stronger than I had anticipated. Perhaps because now he was filled with rage. It should have made my foe sloppy and I had made the mistake of getting in close. From somewhere I couldn't see the alien produced a club, which he used to bash me. Thankfully it didn't hurt, but I did get rattled around a bit.

The next thing I knew Kalibak seemed to be trying to snap my neck. Granted it wouldn't kill me, but it could really ruin my day.

That was when the love of my life (not counting Raven) joined the fight. I couldn't see what she did however I was soon free, so I knew she must of done something to set me lose.

"What is it you want?" my goddess of a girlfriend demanded to know.

"Your demise" Kalibak replied before whacking Kara with his beta club, an act that sent her flying backwards so hard that she hit the ground after soaring through the air.

The ugly git then leaped high into the air, and then Kalibak landed right on top of Kara with such force, that it created a crater around them.

"Motherfucker" I heard myself say.

It took a lot of effort but I managed to get up. I tried to help however there was something wrong with the suit. It was trying to tell me something yet I ignored the words and tried to lift my right arm.

"Come on Kryptonian!" Kalibak said as he started to beat Kara with his club. "Fight back! There's no pleasure in killing an opponent. If they don't even struggle"

That was when I tried to open fire, but nothing happen, the fusion blaster must have been damaged, and I was out of range with the flame thrower which meant I had to get closer.

"I would have expected more from the cousin of Superman" mocked the son of Darkseid

Kara was then flying past me, and for a second I thought Kalibak was going to try and finish me off, but foolishly he ignored me.

Instead Kalibak looked right at Kara and his confident expression was soon replaced with one of fear as he saw my sweetheart standing up. Her eyes glowing red, and she had a very furious look upon her face.

"You want a fight?!" she asked as her eyes glowed even brighter. "You've got one!"

Then she blasted Kalibak with his heat vision sending him flying into the air, screaming in agony. Then the alien bounced off the side of a building and almost smacked head first into the pavement, but at the last second Kara flew forward, caugh Kalibak in the air, and starting wailing on him with a barrage of punches.

"I'm so sick and tired of every single supervillain thinking that they can take me on to get to Superman" she said as she punched Kalibak twice in the face with all of her might. "just because I'm a girl that doesn't mean I'm weaker than him"

She then punched Kalibak some more before sending him hurdling to the ground. Only again the ugly alien never made it as Kara was waiting for him. Before the ugly alien hit the tarmac she grabbed a leg and spun Darkseid's son around so that he went flying past me, and through the windows of department store. Another humours site was soon laid before me as Kalibak had hit the women's clothing section of the store. When the villain climbed out I saw that he was covered in girl's underwear. That really made me laugh.

"Well guess what big man," Kara then said, continuing her speech, as she flew down and grabbed Kalibak by the throat. "I'm not just some kid that you get to push around!"

My girlfriend was still beating on the super powered freak when the Special Crimes Unit turned up.

"I think you've won" said the officer leading the team which had come to claim Kalibak "we can take it from here Miss".

Kara did just that, and then she raced over to me.

"Did you hurt you" she asked with great amounts of concern.

"Not really" I replied "I got shook up a little, but there's something wrong with the armour. The blasters not working and I can't seem to move very well. I tried to fire it and all I got was a sort of error message".

Using her X-ray vision my other half looked me up and down.

"Auto-repairs already handling the damage. Still I think I can make a few improvements. I could reinforce the...".

That was when the technobabble started I felt my head start to hurt.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I was also concerned "he smacked you around a bit there".

Kara looked okay, but just because she didn't seem to be badly injured that didn't mean that she was doing fine.

"I'll be better soon" my girlfriend assured " Kalibak's no were near as tough as Darkseid, and I've fought him".

I was very glad that I'd never had to fight Darkseid. That guy was so much more powerful than me that a fight between us wouldn't less seconds. At least not unless that guy had some sort of major weakness I could exploit.

"So I don't have to endure any therapeutic shopping trips then?" I joked.

Buying new clothes was a proven way for women to deal with their stressful lives, and since I was now super rich I could afford to spoil Kara more than a little. Sometimes she felt guilty about it I was sure, but it was really no big deal to me as it was only money. The actual shopping was the traumatic part, all those bags.

"No thanks" she replied "I think when you spend two hundred dollars on a designer skirt and you still pay for some matching boots, then you have to admit that you have a problem. But we could go out to dinner".

Food sounded good. Neither of us needed to eat as she ran on sunlight and water, a lot like a plant. As for me I couldn't starve to death, but we did both feel really hunger after a lot of physical activity so we liked to eat something after a big fight.

"First let's go up the Watchtower and get you out of that armour" decided my girlfriend.

With that Kara called the alien overseer and seconds we were transported away.

**Stewart's Comic Book Store – Big Bang Theory Universe - 2014**

It was Wednesday night, and to those who had the misfortune of knowing Sheldon Cooper this evening had another name. It was New Comic Book Night, an event that involved someone driving Sheldon Cooper down to the comic book store. Sometimes the group was made up of all four of the close male friends, but this night only Leonard Hofstadter was available. Which meant that he alone had to suffer in silence as Sheldon Cooper lectured on a subject no one cared about.

The door of the store opened and Sheldon sniffed the air, at once he detected the scent of new comic books. It was almost like some sort of supernatural power, but neither of the geeky men believed in such things.

"So what's on offer tonight" Leonard asked of his friend Stewart.

The comic book store had burned down a few months, and ever since it had been repaired and then reopened there had been a lot of new merchandise on offer. But the biggest change was that DC Comics no longer existed.

Out of no where the entire DC franchise had been brought under the control of a British company and then more or less destroyed. Now there was only one comic being produced and all the new merchandise, such as action figures and toys, were all connected to Traveller Comics one and only comic book series.

But that wasn't even the weird thing. No one could understand why this had been done. It simply wasn't profitable at all. The only explanation Leonard Hofstadter could come up with was that some insane rich person had created the character and then had spent a fortune to ensure that every DC fan would read about his creation even if it made the company bankrupt.

"Just the newest issue of Gothic" answered the store's owner after finally managing to open a large box that was full of freshly printed comics " it's the start of the new series too".

Sheldon let a sigh, which made Leonard grin just a little. His room mate loathed the character called Gothic, for which the comic was named. This was because the books were now full of violence, sex, nudity, unconventional yet still romantic relationships, and quite a lot of swearing.

That was what really annoyed Sheldon. The fact that the book took place an altered and sometimes confusing version of the DCAU, paled in comparison to the fact that Traveller comics was clearly an adult product. Sheldon did not approve, and perversely that just made Leonard a little giddy when a new one came out.

Of course the real sin was that Dr Cooper's beloved Flash had not once been seen, only mentioned. Even the parts of the story that showed more established characters had never once shown Wally West in action.

Truthfully the fact that comic book annoyed Sheldon so much was not the only reason why the physicist enjoyed the stories so much. The main character was from a universe were superheroes and their evil counterparts only existed on the television or on paper. The fictional character, who had also been a bit of nerd, had then been thrown into the altered DCAU by a being known as the Traveller, the being that the franchise was now named after.

To start with Gothic had been de-aged and then given immortality along with another powers that weren't yet completely understood. Thrown in with the Teen Titans of the cartoon series the new character had undergone a series of adventures while also trying to fit in with the young heroes. Something that hadn't been very succesful as Gothic was not a clean cut hero, he was a bit an anti-hero in fact, one that had been forced into a role he didn't wish for him.

That drama aside the immortal had gone off to have adventures of the very adult kind. He'd slept with Catwoman and Tali' al Ghul, both of which were romantic interests of the Batman. Heck he'd gotten off with Harley Quinn in the first season, an event that had relived the fact that Joker was gay and in love with Gotham's Dark Knight.

Even more impressive than any of that was the sort of hero's meeting with Supergirl. That there was an intense physical attraction between the two characters right from the start had been made very clear. Two dates, and an encounter with the Riddler, led to a very graphic scene and then Gothic was off again to explore more of the world he'd been sent to aganist his will.

After that Trigon had been defeated and Gothic had entered a relationships with Raven. Hints about the romance had been in many issues, only the characters themselves seemed to have been oblivious to their growing love or at least Gothic had been. Raven had at least known she had a crush, but she hadn't expressed her feeling until it was too late, but things had worked out well after Trigon's death and the world wide reset.

That was when things really de-railed. The Teen Titans completely changed. Three of the Titans left the team, but did make a few appearances later. New team members had been added, one of which was a completely new character one never before seen in the DC Verse. But the really interesting part was that Supergirl had then joined the team and she had her eye on acquiring Gothic as a boyfriend.

Given that Raven had already staked her claim it had only been a matter of time before the two super powered women got into a fight. It had happened fight away, there had been other adventures and the return of Slade to enjoy before the confrontation had taken place.

Then something unexpected had happened. Raven and Supergirl had decided to share the man they both wanted to be with romantically. Something Leonard hadn't seem coming, it was also something Sheldon complained endlessly about despite the fact that he didn't exactly have a normal relationships with his girlfriend either. After all not many people had multi page contracts with their romantic partners.

Of course while such odd relationships do happen, they rarely last both in real life and in comic books. Raven had left soon after Gothic had been made leader of the Teen Titans. The plus side was that this put Supergirl in the spotlight, so to speak, and she'd turned out be a very fun character.

Meanwhile the immortal had been dealing with the troubles that came with being a good leader. Plus there had been the normal super villain fights and Tim Drake's retirement from the super hero life to deal with.

There had even been a crossover issue featuring Supergirl and Gothic going on a Justice League mission. Followed by a visit to the famed fortress of solitude.

Soon after that the series had come to an end. The Slade plot had come to an end and there had been a massive three battle involving the Titans, Deathstroke's forces and Cadmus.

Leonard had enjoyed the final book it had explained a lot, not everything but enough that a lot of confusing things had started to make sense. As an added bonus a dark and thankfully alternate future had been shown, but it ended on a hopeful note and there was a promise of further adventures.

Now the first issue of the new series was here, and the scientist fully intended to buy it. Sheldon also brought a copy, if only so he could complain about it.

"You know you could just by old comics online" pointed out Leonard Hofstadter as he and his room mate left the store.

As normal Sheldon Cooper refused to take his friend's advice.

"It's Wednesday night" said the tall nerd "Wednesday night is new comic book night. So unless Amazon start to deliver to the apartment on a Wednesday night then I will continue to come to the comic book store".

Leonard just shook his head and for the millionth time he had to wonder of Sheldon's mother had really gotten her son tested for insanity or not.

**Author Notes**.

I'm going to try and keep a better track of time. So keep an eye on that. At this point its only been a few weeks since the Titans were shut down. Kara and Gothic are living together in the Watchtower and will soon have their own place as planned.

Mae'r Ddraig Gymreig means The Welsh Dragon. Welsh Dragon, or simply 'Dragon', is Gothic's Justice League name for when he puts on the armour and gets to be one the big hitters. The name is not mine it comes from the mind of DeusImperator92. I also had other suggestions that led to this point, but I can't remember who said what but I got given ideas about the character wearing power armour and also about becoming a dragon. I ended up with dragon themed power armour that was made by Kara using advanced alien tech, so thanks for the help kind reviewers.

Lastly another reviewer suggest the idea of DC Gothic being shown as a comic book. Since there will be a few small crossovers in this story it amused me to have the Gothic comic series appear in Big Bang Theory. Plus it gave me the chance to summarise the DC Gothic – Teen Titans in case anyone reading this story has forgotten any of the important details.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note:**

So here is another chapter. Not much to say on it really. Gothic's being brought into the League but some people aren't happy about it. Even he isn't overjoyed by the idea.

FYI I put together a couple of chapters for my version of Trouble in Tokyo. It features Gothic's Titans rather than the original cast so while the overall plot is the same the characters are different and so the story is a bit different as well. I wanted to see if they was any interest in such a story before writing anymore. I'm not much in Japanese culture so I'm not going to write a story set in Japan unless people want to read it.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Indoctrination **

**The Watchtower – Control Room -** October 2002 **  
**

I knew that it was a bad idea but I couldn't help it I just had to yawn. I did that because Green Lantern was lecturing me about what League members should and shouldn't do. It was a long list of things and he hadn't even gotten to stuff I was actually likely to do. But he was so boring to listen to that I was finding it extremely hard to focus on anything he was saying.

"And another thing, members of the League do their best to save lives not to end them. We found the remains of Slade Wilson. Killing your enemies is not acceptable".

Actually I'd never killed Slade Wilson. He'd already been dead when I'd destroyed him in the Underword and that whole thing had been undone during some sort of big reset. The second time he'd 'died' it had been Robin who had done the deed. Not that I was going to Jon Stewart that. Tim had ended Slade's existence in order to protect his fellow Titans, but a stuck up git like Stewart would never accept that. Much better for me to take the blame and any punishment, that way Tim could put the event behind him and get on with the life he deserved to have.

"And?" I promoted.

Judging by the Founder's expression I judged that this may of not been the smartest thing that I could have said.

"Do you have any idea what kind of sanctions can be levied against you, as a member of the League, for murder? Or what the police might do if they found out. This could go to court".

What could they do to me? Slade had already been dead. You can't murder a lich because they aren't alive. You can't kill a corpse. End of story. Plus Slade had been an assassin and terrorist, ending him had been a public service and could be justified as self-defence since Deathstroke had been trying to kill the Titans.

"And again, I should care why?"

He better have a good reason because I was half asleep already and besides from making angry faces there really was much he could do unless I broke the rules again, because there was no actual evidence that I had killed Slade. None of my Titans were going to grass on me. Besides winding him was rather fun.

"I can have you remove from the League" Green Lantern said, clearing trying to impress upon me how important this whole not killing the bad guys thing was.

"No you can't," I said with a smirk "I know for a fact that you already got voted down when you tried to remove me from the Titans, and when you tried to stop me from joining the League you got voted down again. So there is no way you can just kick me out. Besides I wouldn't be here if I wasn't wanted. I don't why that is, but I can make a few guesses".

Shayera had actually sponsored my entry, and had told me the results of the vote, as a founding member she had a lot of influence over these sort of decisions even if she was exactly that popular right now. She actually liked me in a friend way and it was mutual so there no mystery as to why she had taken my side. Another possible reason was that Superman wanted me on the side of the good guys, for reasons of his own. Plus Kara may have put some pressure on him, but if she had she hadn't told me about it.

I also suspected that Batman wanted to keep me close, if only to keep an eye on me. That was understandable as I was still Ra's al Ghul's successor and I had information that could spell disaster for the League should it fall into unfriendly hands. What Wonder Woman wanted was no concern to me, as I really didn't like her. As for the Flash might have been on my side as he was the kind of person to see the best in other people.

"As one of the founders it is my responsibility to ensure that everyone in the league is of high moral character. So, yes I might not be able to remove you from the League by I can limit your actions. I can keep on monitor duty full-time".

Now he'd lessened the threat. Which meant he was bluffing. He had no real hold over me.

"I won't do it" I replied "I have no intention of wasting my time sitting at a computer".

And even I did I'd just play video games and annoy people on Cape.

"You'll do whatever it is I order you to do," John Stewart yelled in a sort of drill sergeant way.

"Okay how about this" I said "I won't kill any human being unless they are trying to destroy the world".

For me that was a very reasonable offer, but it was shot down.

"No killing people period" GL replied "human or otherwise".

"What about Omega level situations?" I asked "aren't we allowed to.."

I stopped there as Green Lantern eyes actually started to glow with the same kind of energy he could call upon using his ring. It kinda reminded me of the time Starfire had threatened to smite me if I didn't talk to Raven about joining with some sort of friendship celebration. But rather than blast me Stewart just closed his eyes and clenched his fists, in an effect to control his temper.

While his eyes were closed I got up and left. Only I didn't get far as I stopped by another member of the League

"Why are you annoying Jon so much. He is one of the founders of the league. He wasn't lying about keeping you stuck up here either, and as a Green Lantern he is one of the best people to learn from. Sure, he's a little harsh sometimes, but he's really a caring soul who can really help you find your way to becoming a true hero".

Given that Vixen was sleeping with Stewart, her opinion was rather biases, but I had nothing against her personally so I didn't ignore her.

"I don't want to be a true hero" I told the supermodel "I might be immortal but aside from that I'm not that powerful".

"Even normal human have a place in the league. Batman is 'just' human and look at everything he has accomplished".

Oh yeah he was a great role model. Sure he'd helped saved the world, but then so had I, even if I didn't remember either of those times, and I was able to have fun and relationships. Guy was a total asshole in a lot of ways. Tim Drake had told me a lot about his early teenage years, and some of it was very unsettling to say the least.

"I'm not a hero, I'm a killer" I admitted "and I'll kill again to protect the people I care about".

"Just because you've killed in the past doesn't mean you can't be a super hero now" Vixen said, and she meant it.

I totally disagreed with that statement.

"No I can't. Super Heroes don't always have special rings or meta-human abilities but they always set good examples. Even Batman is an inspiration to people, that's why he is a super hero even without any power. He could, and would, give his life to protect others. I can't do that, and I'm no were near merciful enough to be compared to people like you. I have killed and if I wasn't forcing myself to be here I'd go out and do what needed to be done. Because this is a war and every time you spare one of the monsters out there you doom dozens of good people to horrible fates. I'm not saying your way is wrong, because it's not, but it's not the way I'd do things if I wasn't in the League".

"So why are you in the League if you don't agree with our goals?" Vixen asked.

Well mostly it was because Starfire had asked me to. The alternative was led to me being this universe's version of Frank Castle. Not exactly the good life, it was something I wanted to avoid.

"I made a promise to a princess" I replied before walking away.

**The Watchtower – Training Rooms **\- October 2002 **  
**

"It's obvious you need further training," Batman said bluntly from the control room overlooking the simulator.

Was it. I'd thought I was doing rather well?

"You do remember that Robin trained me right?" I asked.

"Yes" replied Batman.

"And since you trained him that means in a way you're criticizing your own teaching methods".

I did so love pointing out how foolish the members of the League could be at times.

Rather than reply the Dark Knight said.

"Activating Danger Room"

"The X-men could so sue you for this" I joked.

Before I knew what was happening I was in some city. Batman had added some random civilians to the simulation and then a small group of people came running out of bank while firing their weapons into the air.

"Always with the banks" I muttered before springing into action.

(Line Break)

In the simulation control room, some of the founding members and Kara watched the immortal go to town on some holographic bad guys.

"Hmm" Batman said as he studied the readouts "nothing superhuman so far. Peak levels for certain but I don't think he has any meta-human enhancements aside from his immortality and rapid skill acquisition".

Since no one commented on that the Dark Knight began increasing the threat level in the room.

"I had no idea he could move like that" commented Green Lantern, who had calmed down enough to be subjective about what he was viewing "he's much faster and more agile than his profile suggests".

Batman had much better idea of what Gothic could do when compared to the other Founders since the now former Robin had been making regular reports to him about the immortal, but still it was better to see the young man in action for himself, as it would help the Dark Knight should he have to take rocker down one day.

"He's told me a few times that revealing your true strength was one of the things a crime fighter should never do" commented Supergirl "so he holds back a lot of the time, but I don't think he knows how good he really is"

Gotham's Grim Guardian made a mental note about that, it also explained why Gothic was showing off how strong he was. The immortal wasn't that phyiscally powerful but he did actual have super strength it was just that he didn't use enough to always be noticable.

Then the Batman cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"He's just be shot, by a plastic bullet, but he should have been slowed down or even knocked over. Which means..."

Clark confirmed what Bruce was thinking with one of his many forms of vision.

"Kevlar. Light armour. It's hard to tell he's wearing it".

"It similar to the materials I use" explained Batman "it conforms to the body"

Bruce knew this as Robin had gotten the piece of equipment for the young immortal from the Batcave, with the Dark Knight's permission of course.

"Body armour in a training session. That seems a little paranoid," GL said to the Caped Crusader "I mean for anyone who isn't you".

"If it gets used, then it's not paranoia. It's just good planning" Batman said firmly, causing almost everyone to roll their eyes.

"He's far more ruthless than most members of the League" Jo'nn commented as the immortal beat up several minor villains with a staff.

Batman then noted that the style was similar to that used by Nightwing, who had assisted in Robin's training so that made sense. Batman rarely used the telescoping staff himself, but he had to admit that it was an effective weapon. Also a few of the moves Gothic was using clearly came from Deathstroke the Terminator. Which was a little bit worrying, but on the other hand Gotham's shadowy protector knew how effective such moves could be as he himself had faced Slade Wilson in combat. This was also important for the broody crime fighter to know as again it might aid him should he ever need to take Gothic out of action for a while.

"All that power in the hands of someone who values other people welling being so little," GL said with sigh "it's such a shame".

"If we acted like that, we'd be no better than they are," Superman agreed.

"Really" said Supergirl "your criticizing him for giving a nasty beating to crook who just opened fire on a crowd of people"

The latest wave of criminal scum had indeed opened fire upon innocent bystanders. Granted they were holographic people, but that didn't mean that her point wasn't a valid one.

"Sorry, Kara I may have oversimplified" said her cousin "What I meant is that we ourselves can't afford to deviate from a strict code of conduct or we run the risk of becoming the very thing we fight against. The most worse thing about evil people isn't the pain and suffering they cause, it's that we can become like them. By acting as ruthless and cruel towards them we can start to reflect them, until one day we look in the mirror and we see the monsters that we fight staring back at us".

_"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you"_ quoted the Flash

Hearing Wally West quote Friedrich Nietzsche was a surprise to everyone, but no one commented on the matter as really they should have been shocked at all. The Flash was no fool, in fact many suspected that he only played that role to make other people underestimate him.

"That's a good point" admitted Kara after thinking on the matter a little "but maybe that's why he needs to be here".

Truthfully she hadn't considered the idea that Gothic could turn into a monster by being a ruthless and bloodthirsty as they could sometimes be. So she decided then and there to talk to her boyfriend about this crime fighting methods the next time he went too far. Perhaps she could get that important point across. She also had another way to help keep her partner more relaxed, but that was very personal and it could go wrong.

"I'm going to put him up against some of my foes" Batman announced, bringing everyone's attention back to what the newest member of the League was doing .

The Joker and Harley popped out of an alley to the side of the immortal. However before the Clown Prince of Crime could do anything other than laugh. Gothic collapsed the staff he was using so that it was the size of baton and then threw it so hard that the Joker collapsed to the ground. Hologram Harley freaked out but soon had a dart in her neck, and two seconds later she was on the ground.

"He's got these darts coated in sedatives" Kara explained "he throws them really well and it knocks people out for a few hours at least"

Something that she had experienced first hand, but she'd actually considered the act a merciful one, as she really hadn't wanted to knock her boyfriend out by punching him. The smoke bomb thing had been what had really annoyed her, but she was a forgiving person.

Gothic didn't seem to be as forgiving, but all of the founders watching had to admit that the young man was skilled, and that he a lot of potential to be a great hero.

"Any more testing?" Shayera asked after she arrived just in time to see the immortal had beaten Killer Croc senseless.

Batman nodded, all business as he pressed some more buttons.

They all watched as the sort of hero turned toward a door just in time to see a bloody and badly injured Superman get thrown threw the door. Then the walls surrounding the door came apart as a massive grey figure tore it apart in order to get onto the street.

"Doomsday," Superman whispered with a touch of dread, before more firmly saying "that's a bit much isn't it?".

Sure this was all a test, but this match up seemed wrong to Clark.

"We need to see if he will give up" replied Batman "he's in no actual danger in any case".

Which was true as the safety protocols were in effect. There was only a very small chance they would fail so normally Bruce wouldn't risk using this training level on anyone who didn't have the raw power of a big hitter, but Gothic couldn't actually be killed.

"He better not be" said Kara darkly "or I'll be throwing _you_ through a door".

Even the Dark Knight wasn't brave enough to face an upset Supergirl, well not without time to prepare, so he changed to the enemy into something more reasonable. Bane was a good choice as while Gothic had fought the masked wrestler before he'd not faced Bane at full strength. This would be a much fairer test.

As it turned out the immortal had enough darts to take down Bane. The computer took into account the fact that Bane used venom but even that cocktail of drugs couldn't keep you standing if you got hit by enough darts to take down an entire team of super villains. Of course hitting the criminal with the broken door had helped as well.

Batman intended for there to have been some more trials, ones that tested Gothic stealth skills rather than fighting talents, but something more important came up and everyone but Shayera had to leave. The woman once known as Hawkgirl took over and once the immortal had worn himself out she invited him to go have a drink with her so they could chat for a while.

(Line Break)

**The Watchtower – Mess Hall **\- October 2002 **  
**

"Oh mocha" I said as the Thanagarian Thrasher presented me with the caffeine goodness "Shay tell me, how did you know that I badly wanted this exact coffee?".

Shay was the nickname I'd given Hawkgirl, as I just enjoyed giving people new names.

"I didn't I just got you what I was having" replied Shayera as we sat down at an empty table.

"Ah so you just have really good taste then" I said to her.

Looking around I couldn't fail to notice how many people taking care not to look at either of us, and for once I didn't think it had anything to do with me.

"Nice crowd" I muttered

No big hitters or founders around at the moment, but there were a good twenty or so people in here. Yet we might as well have been alone.

"I did betray the League" Shayera reminded me.

Sure but no one here had actually been in the League at the time.

"I betrayed the entire world" Shay added a moment later.

Yes well betrayal was always very personal.

"I killed at least a dozen of your people during the Occupation" I stated "but you're not holding a grudge"

Okay so that didn't really compared to nearly letting billions die, but I was trying to make her feel better about herself and admittily I wasn't doing a very good job.

"You were fighting for freedom" Shay pointed out "I helped my people to take over your entire world".

Actually I suspect that it had in fact had more to do an overdose of testosterone combined with a desire to exert myself while gaining freedom from the Tower I'd felt imprisoned in. Plus they did ruin Christmas, I could never of let that go.

"It's not really my world either" I said with a sigh.

Of course it was at least a version of Earth, which was better than being on a totally alien planet, even if was an unusual variation of my world.

"I know what you mean" agreed Shayera, who then went silent before saying "Maybe that's why were friends. We're both exiled from our homes".

I could sense that she needed more than that from me to be friends.

"Nah I don't think that's the only reason. I do take to people quickly. You're fun to hang out with. You have a good sense of humour. You can kick ass and make it look easy. You've helped saved the world at least three time so everyone owes you, but you never think you're better than anyone else. Oh and you're super hot too. What's not to like?".

"No flirting I'm too old for you" she replied with a smile that let me know that I had at least cheered her up a little.

"I'm older than I appear" I replied "I just look young so why not flirt with you. I might even be older than you what with all the time travel and that whole regression to a seventeen year old thing".

Or was it sixteen? I really couldn't remember any more. To much time travel I guessed. That and the different fake identities made it hard to keep track of how old you were suppose to be.

"I'm nearly a hundred years old" she admitted.

That had been the wrong time to sip my drink. I made a mess everywhere. Thankfully there were many napkins about and also Shay didn't laugh at me. Which was nice of her.

"What really!" I said between coughs "bloody hell, how long do your people live?"

"I think my grandmother was over three hundred years old" she said without complete certainty " Thanagarian years are shorter than Earth ones but it's still about three hundred years. I'm about thirty in human terms".

I'd never heard her talk about her family before.

"Did you have a large family?" I asked.

I had so I knew that not having them around could be painful sometimes. Mostly I had gotten over it by keeping myself busy and distracted, my messed up life helped with that. Also getting love and affection from Kara made a lot of things easier to handle, even Raven leaving hadn't been as depressing as it could have been thanks to my goddess of a girlfriend.

"Not really" she replied "the war took a lot of people from me, but I was lucky compared to most I didn't have much family to lose. My parents might still be alive I guess. I don't know how bad the invasion was".

Sometimes I had to wonder what was worse. Not knowing if you were now an orphan or knowing for a fact that you were.

"I had a little brother, you remind me off him".

Ah now things were starting to make sense. I had wondered what it was that made her feel protective towards me.

"He was a rebel. Wouldn't join the army, since he was a pacifist".

"I don't think I've ever been compared to a pacifist before" I remarked.

Well not in this reality anyway.

"I'm from a race of warriors" the winged woman reminded "We have people who don't fight but he refused to join when I did. Then he got drafted and went on the run. That's treason so... well he was pretty much what people on Earth would call the black sheep of the family. I think you two could have been friends".

He'd likely been executed was what she meant.

"I do seem to be drawn to the outcasts and the overlooked" I remarked.

Even Kara wasn't really that well known, she was Superman's cousin to most. Few people really saw that Supergirl was really just a young woman who wanted a normal life here. Well as normal as she could get. Blackfire was an outcast because of her past actions. Ace scared people, and Raven... well she could be anti-social to say the least. Ironically I was well know and noticed. People seemed to like me even though I was a so a black sheep.

Heck I even had popular and well known friends. Stargirl looked up to me as a sort of mentor and most people really liked her. My current best friend had been the sidekick of The Batman. Wildfire the heir to the throne of an entire world wanted me to visit his world just to hang out. Oh and Hawkgirl was trying to make me her little brother. My life was weird, and interesting.

"Now that looked like a deep thought" said Shayera "want to share. I don't have a penny but I can get one".

"Just funny life stuff" I shared "I was just think of how I've some how ended up as popular outcast. It's a totally oxymoron. I use to be a total loner and now I get to have coffee with attractive world saving heroines".

"Sadly not for much longer" said Shayera with a sigh "I have monitor duty to get to, and you should get home to Kara before she forgets what you look like".

Ah yes Kara. I should really spend some more time with her before she ended up in the 31st century. Her birthday was less than two months away so that meant I only had just over a year left with her.

"We can make this a regular thing" I said as Shayera got up "I can pay for the coffee next time".

"They're free" replied the former Hawkgirl "but sure that sounds like fun".

As I headed for the teleporter I realised that Shayera could be around for another two hundred years. No wonder she wanted to be friends, she could at least be sure that I had a good chance of being around for a the next century or so. Although I doubted she had actually realised this.

Of course that meant I had to make sure she didn't die. Starfire's future knowledge had told me a few horrible details about how the current League would break apart and how Shay would die. But I was going to make sure that she lived to see another two hundred years.

Just by joining the League I had changed things. Hopefully I could make them better.

"Beam me down, Scotty" I told the tech at the teleporter pad "Jump City please"

A flash of light later and I was home.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Notes**

I've had to re-write this whole chapter three times. It slowed everything up. I actually would have started posting chapters for DC Gothic - Justice League last week if not for this headache.

I'm still not happy with it, but I do need to explain how his powers work and this is the best I could manage. If you don't care much about how DC Gothic superpowers function then feel free to skip this chapter as it doesn't develop the plot at all.

**DC Gothic – Immortality. A Blessing Or A Curse? **

**Science Labs – The Watchtower - October 2002 **

"So what's the verdict Doc? Am I going to make it?" I asked of the lab coat wearing medical professional, who had prodded and probbed me for the better part of half an hour.

Before that I'd spent most of the day getting scanned by fancy machines, and then I'd spent more time doing things like lifting weights, balancing, and showing off my body in other ways. Then I'd endured more hardships so they my eye sight and hearing could be tested. At least they hadn't need a cup of my urine. Although the quack had taken a few blood samples.

The doctor totally ignored the joke and kept looking over the results of all the tests along, not just the poking and prodding ones, along with the expert he'd called in earlier.

"Incredible" the female scientist who was aiding the physician muttered "it's not at all what I'd call super strength per say as the muscles have become more efficient and compact, rather than larger, so it's more like enhanced strength".

"What's the difference" asked Shayera Hol who had taken it upon herself to babysit me during my medical assessment.

Kara had planned to be here. She was already a member of the League, so she'd just been transferred, which meant that she'd already been through all of this so she could have prepare me. However Supergirl was required down on Earth as Superman was off in another solar system doing some major humanitarian work.

Blackfire had wanted to take Kara's place, so that I wouldn't be all by myself but her application was still being processed. This was due to her earlier life as a villain. Part of that process involved the alien girl being telepathically scanned and analysed by the Martian Manhunter in order to make sure that Ace's rewiring was permanent. Personally I thought there was no need as while Ace's tampering had changed her views on things Blackfire hadn't totally reformed until she became part of a team. She'd never really had friends until she became a member of my team. In my view being a Teen Titan had been what really changed the alien girl, so much so in fact that she actually missed her brother enough to cry when he left. However I could be wrong so I'd encouraged her to put up with their testing as long Ace was nearby. Being a powerful telepathic metahuman meant that she would be able to fix anything that went wrong during the testing as Ace knew Blackfire's mind very well.

"There are three board categorises of super strength" the female egghead said to Hawkgirl. "Type I: This ranges from being able to carry several people or even lifting small cars. Both you and Gothic are at this level, but at the low-end. Then there's type II: beings who are able to lift heavier things such a large car all the way up carrying an entire plane. Which some members of the League can do. Type III: is Superman levels of strength. Which is impossible to test using the equipment we have here but we do have some data for comparisons".

"Well I am a metahuman" I pointed out "so I was bound to at least be a type one given how much stronger I've become".

I also had denser bones to go along with the compact muscles. Which was nice as it made me harder to damage.

"Actually not always" corrected the doctor "You seen the gene often lays dormant until a moment of extraordinary physiological stress activates it, mostly this happens during purberty, and upon activation it brings about a series of genetic changes. This doesn't always grant a person super powers it can in fact make a person weaker over all

Wait wasn't that how the X-gene worked in the Marvel comics?

"And while this does sound like what happened to you the gene is not in your DNA. So you can't be a meta-human" the science lady added.

I hadn't expected to hear that.

"So wait you're telling me that I am in fact a pure human?" I asked, feeling rather shocked.

"Yes more so than anyone on Earth as we all have the gene, it's just that for most of us it's completely dormant thought out our lives" informed the female brainy person. "You see according to our information a group of aliens performed experiments on primitive humans, changing what we call the meta-gene for reasons only they understood. This tampering involved altered the gene and they used part of their own DNA to do this. Due to their experimentations, they altered the genetic destiny of the human race. Only for humans is the meta-gene so likely to active. There are mutants within other species of course but they are far less common among animals and alien races".

That was true. Metahumans seemed to be everywhere. I had studied this and noticed that the increasing numbers of Metahumans was not directly related to the fact that human population was growing ever higher. There were a lot of environmental factors also involved. Nuclear tests. Pollution. Experimentation and so on.

Also there were aliens who had bred with humans and this had contaminated the gene pool. Well perhaps 'contaminated' was the wrong word for it as that would suggest that our DNA had been purposely corrupted. Unlike those tampering aliens of long ago most who had breed with humans would have just wanted to start families.

"The evolution of other intelligant races suggests that we would have eventually become a species of super beings similar to Kryptonians" added the doctor who seemed to be just as well as formed as the science type woman. "Although that would take hundreds of thousand of years to achieve, likely even longer".

That actually explained a lot. I had wondered why so many alien races were so much powerful than humans. Really they were just more developed than mankind that was all. They weren't better than us. At least no more than an older brother is superior to a younger sibling. They'd just been around longer and evolution in this universe ensured that older species became more powerful over time.

Which was good because humans with even only some of powers that Kryptonians had under a yellow sun would have utterly destroyed this planet a long time ago.

As strange as that all sounded, it wasn't that odd of a thing in fiction. Heck even back home some people believed aliens had tampered with our DNA. Of course until we met other intelligent races and asked them about that no one would never be able to prove it.

Things here however were different. The existence of aliens was a fact of life. So much so that people rarely paid it much attention. Even I could forget that extra terrestrial life was all around me. My own super powered girlfriend was an alien. She might look human, and she might even act like she was a native of Earth, but on the biological level we were radically different. Raven on the other hand was half human since she'd burned out a lot of her demonic biology when destroying nearly all of Trigon. Human DNA had replaced the demon for reasons that made little sense, but she was still half alien as well. I often forgot that fact even though it meant we couldn't have children.

"You are in fact an evolved human" further explained the woman genius "Artificially evolved yes, as this was something done to you, but you're not a mutant or an alien and your power isn't mystical either".

Well my magical powers were of course mystical. They weren't a product of me being a Homo Magi like say Zantana. They came from the fact that my soul was 'blessed' by an elder god. I could use other forms of magic, but the power for those spells still came from the same place.

Which made me a warlock of sorts as the Old Norse word Vard-lokkur, "_caller of spirits_" could be the source of the word. I called upon a being that transferred it's power to me in a spiritual way. It was not a demon, which other Warlocks could call upon for power, as Doctor Fate has assured me of the being had some humanity, but it was not a physical creature. Even when I used Raven's magic, which I could no longer do since it had been was our close intimacy (both physical and emotional) that allowed it, I'd had to tap into her soul self to so.

Another use for the term Warlock was a male witch who got his magic from the devil. Since I now had access to some of Trigon's powers, and he was considered to be the equivalent of Satan in some parts of the universe, and outside of it, the title of Warlock most defiantly applied to me.

If I ever took up Tala's offer of an apprenticeship I would start calling myself Warlock as it did sound cool.

"Although some sort of magic or mystical power was involved in your creation, judging by Doctor Fates notes. This source is not sustaining either ability" added one of the two smart people "there is an energy that does sustain it but it's some sort of exotic radiation, and you're producing it so it won't 'run out' if you understand what I mean".

Which I knew because if it was I would have died during the Occupation when I'd been 'killed' by a Nth metal weapon. Had my immortality been magical the alien weapon would have disrupted any supernatural energies within my body and that would have prevented me from healing.

"This energy has become part of your body, it's in every cell. It's creation is as natural as the production of new blood cells or hair growth. It's a totally biological process. This is why you can't control it. There are things you do to help or even hinder the process but you could never stop it".

"Help how?" I inquired

"Eating healthy food, getting at least six hours sleep a night and exercise" was the simple answer.

I then took a few moments to process all this information before saying anything else.

"So I'm just an advanced human, then?"

"Not strictly speaking" answered the science lady "you're intelligence is above average, but your IQ isn't high enough to match what I theories an advanced human would require. You're certainly more evolved mentally as you can obtain new skills with great ease. However the human brain doesn't stop learning just because you're body has stopped growing. So there is no reason why your IQ can't increase".

That took a moment to process.

"Wait, do you mean I won't get any stronger"

This time it was the male doctor, who answered.

"You've ended the phase of puberty that allows for rapid physically development. I suspect that this why your age was reversed as puberty would be the best time to deal with such a rapid strength increase. The strain would be much easier to handle during that stage. If you'd been an adult you would of experienced a few nasty side effects over the last year or so. At the very least you would have ended up breaking things or maybe even someone if you'd lost control".

That could have been nasty for Raven. She was tougher than a human woman but compared to me she was rather fragile when compared to Kara. Sire she liked rough sex but if I could say push a car or even lift one then I could of done some real harm to her. Kara was far more than human even with the ring on so she would have been fine.

"But what's lucky for you is that you literally never knew your own strength. On some level you've been holding back while your body adapted to the changes. Because it took months for your strength to increase you were able to adjust gradually. That's why you don't break cups when you hold them tight or why you didn't break my fingers when we shook hands. You have incredible control but it's all automatic. So if you need to make use of your strength it will require a great deal of willpower because on some level you really don't want to hurt anyone".

That wasn't true actually. There were plenty of people I wanted to hurt but that desire would overcome my inclination to not to harm the people I liked.

"You could still get stronger" said the doctor "but that would require you devote yourself to strict regime of body building. But even without that you could still win a World's Strongest Man competition".

That would never happen as it would leave no time to improve myself in other areas. Beside even as a type one I was strong enough to say pull a truck, assuming I had tough enough ropes.

"In fact since you're not a meta-human you could legally enter such a contest" added the middle-aged brainy lady.

Well that was way to make money. But after the first time the rules would be changed to exclude more physically evolved humans.

"But what does any of that had to do with him having enhanced strength rather than super strength?" inquired Shayera Hol.

Both of the super smart people looked at each other. They must have been thinking that they had already explained this part.

"We did get a little off track" admitted the clever lady before again trying to explain everything Shayera wanted to know "If you don't count his magical abilities, which come from an eternal force in any case. Gothic's immortality and adaptive biology are his only real superpowers. His immortality is easy to understand, he will age a a few more years as men don't fully finish puberty till the age of 21. Then he will stop ageing at all. It's also why he can't be killed".

"Right I get that part" commented Shayera "he's not the first immortal I've met".

Of course she'd met Savage so she would understand how it worked.

"He heals everything, but he's not invulnerable" the woman further informed "Which is good in some respect because there are always ways around such things. But that's all it does. It will keep alive indefinitely. Well unless something comes along and kills him".

"What could do that?" asked Shayera Hol, in a way that made her sound scared for me rather than merely curious.

"The guys at S.T.A.R. Labs, said decapitation ought to do it" I admitted "so I suppose blowing me up would work just as well".

Or Superman's heat vision. I still had worries about that. Thank god I didn't have to worry about knocking Kara up . If I did he'd burn me up for sure. Still even my biology couldn't adapt to the point that I could start making hybrids. Perhaps one day medical science would allow such things, but that wasn't going to happen for decades from what I understood from Tim and Kara's trip the time of Batman Beyond.

"That might have been true, once" once more corrected the science woman "but I suspect that they lied to you. Emil Hamilton did most of the work and he's now with Cadmus, so I could be that he purposely downplayed your powers. He's a very ethical man, so if he was under pressure to find meta-humans to match members of the League then he would have lied to even you so that Cadmus would underestimate your potential".

"So what would happen?" I asked then.

"Well we don't know" confessed the doctor "you go into a coma of sorts like you do when your body suffers what would normal be considered a lethal wound. But giving your enhanced healing you'd either grow a new body or your body would grow a new head. Both might even happen meaning there'd be two of you. Although the chances are very low".

Oh gods that sounded horrible! But I doubted it would happen as Savage had been around for tens of thousands of years. Someone or something must of cut his head off during that time.

"You make him sound like an earthworm" commented Hawkgirl.

"Actually that doesn't really work" stated the woman egghead "you can't really make two worms from one. So it is unlikely that decapitation would produce such an effect. I just wouldn't rule it out as I can't test it. Also given that the energy that keeps Gothic immortal faded in the blood cells we examined from his sample I think it most unlikely that he would regrow a new head in any case. But if he didn't you could sow his current one back onto his body and he'd recover".

"I'll make a note of it in his JL file" said Shayera Hol with absolute seriousness.

Getting my head shown back on. That was really morbid to think about.

"What about if I get blown up?" I asked next.

This was something I'd worried about.

"That could kill you" answered the smart woman "but then again if someone collected the parts and stitched you back together... but I wouldn't worry about that to much. Everyone and everything that's alive always dies. Everyone's number comes up sooner or later. You're just better equipped to go the distance".

Now that I knew a way I could die I was starting to think about the afterlife. If I did get turned into burnt chunks of meat my soul might not move on. I wouldn't be aware of anything in that state but I'd be sleeping forever rather than moving on. Scary to think on.

"As for your other superpower that's even more impressive".

"My adaptive biology" I said

"More like biological reactive adaptation" corrected the woman who still hadn't told me her name yet "it's more than just your body adapting to threats. That's a big part of it, but... well let me put it this way. If I had the power of a god and I wanted to make a human being who was the perfect survivor without making them something other than human. Well you're not that different from what I'd end up with. Even without your immortality you could live for centuries, you heal fast, you can't be harmed by viruses or bacteria and you can't even get cancer because you cells stay perfectly healthy. You got stronger because you needed to be, you got faster because you needed, you got tougher because you needed to. But you don't mimic other people's powers you adapt to counter them. Your body has reached its physical limits but there's is a point to you training because you can still refine what you have. And then there's your brain. It changes itself, grows new neural paths, any skill or talent that could help you survive as long as you see how it's done you learn it, but its not mimicking you really do learn them on some level. You may not understand how you know but you always know what you need to survive".

Wow this woman was good. She was like Lex Luthor levels of smart.

"Wait that doesn't make sense" I argued as I found one tiny flaw in another wise great theory "I mean a lot of it does. It perfectly explains how I was able to ride that speeder thing during the Occupation, but what about learning music. That's cool and all but how is that linked to survival?"

"Did you play music to impress a girl?" asked the male doctor.

Yeah the dancing and paino thing had mostly been about impresing Kara, but it had started before that. Then again it was still possible that I'd been thinking about learning music for Raven at some point earlier in the year. She had really loved going to those concerts.

"Well yeah" I admitted.

"Of course sexual reproduction is linked to survival" said is his partner in science "so if you wanted to mate with a female your adaptation power would trigger changes that would make you more desirable. You wouldn't need to worry to much about pheromones. You'd simply become a more of an ideal mate. Within limits of course you can't please everyone and it would never undo something that made you a better survivor, and you'd require some sign of initial attraction from them, but even with those limits still you'd have at least a few fertile women you spend time throwing themselves at you as long your subconscious mind found them worthy of carrying your offspring".

Well that explained so much about my love life. No one wonder I had so many woman after me. As soon as of them show any interest that lasted long enough to trigger a change, part of my brain would be thinking 'let's make babies' and I'd make somehow make myself more attractive to them in a way so subtle even I wouldn't notice.

It wouldn't of accounted for the brief encounters but the women who seemed to want to jump right into bed with me weren't exactly sane and often they were very shallow, so they would interested in adaptations that already happened. What Harely Quinn saw me was anyone's guess. Tala had been attracted to my magical power not me, although I was handsome in a ruggedly heroic sort of way. Talia al Ghul would of only cared about my immortality and that was mostly her father's interest. Catwoman was a little different. She'd been using her body as a tool but later on she had seemed to grow found of me. Hence why she'd left me one of the Eye of the Panther. She wouldn't of parted with such a treasure on a whim and she had been very forgiving about being made a hostage.

Heck even Shayera was effected by it. Not in mating way but she'd picked on something that prompted a sort of protective urge and then as we spent time together something subtle had happened. It could be any number of traits that I'd changed just enough that she'd developed feelings towards me. Not romantic but she was clearly interested in my welfare.

In many ways hearing all that was a weight of my shoulders. For a while I'd been worrying that I was somehow brainwashing women with magic or chemical mind control of some sort when all along all I'd actually been doing was making myself more desirable. Everyone did that. When men wanted to show a girl that they were a suitable partner they would try to impress her. I just did it on a whole different level without even trying which was less manipulative because it wasn't done on purpose.

"Well it's nice that you understand his super powers" Shayera was now saying "we only came here to make sure he's fit for duty".

This had actually started off as medical exam. Then somehow we'd started work on fully understanding the weirdness that is me.

"Err yes sorry about that" said the medical practitioner "physically you're more than fit for duty, but I'm worried about your mental health".

"Well who wouldn't be?" I replied "I was held prisoner and tortured recently".

People seemed to forget that rather easily.

"That's actually not my major concern" the doctor continued "you adapt to deal with all threats including psychology ones, so I doubt that you can be driven insane. I'm not even worried about your social life. You're actually remarkable stable when it comes to relationships even they aren't conventional ones. You can empathise and form attachments which is impressive given how alien our world must seem to you".

The physics of the universe did seem really strange sometimes, and the less said about time travel the better. Heck even the people I knew best seemed to be crazy and they were the heroes.

"Your aggressive tendencies should lessen now that your hormone levels are going to start settling down a little. The fact that you have taken lives does however concern me, but not nearly as much as the fact that you're going to have comes to terms with being an immortal".

"What do you mean?" I asked worriedly.

"Again it's a good thing that you were regressed a few years" the doctor replied "you're young enough to think you're immortal, you just happen to be right. But as you get older you're going to have to deal with the fact that the people around you will grow old and die. Then it will sink in that you won't die and it will become worse".

I hated having to think about that.

"Naturally I'm not qualified to help you address these issues so I am recommending regular counselling sessions. I will clear you for duty as long as you agree to attend hourly sessions on a weekly bases for at least the next few months".

I didn't want to argue about it. I really just wanted to go somewhere and deal with the depression that was starting to sink in.

"Fair enough" I replied "if it gets onto the team full time I'll go talk about my feelings and look at ink blots. Can I put some clothes on now".

This entire time I had been wearing nothing more than a gown, and while I was not shy per say it wasn't exactly that warm in here.

"Yes you can get dressed" offered the doc "I don't see much point in bringing you in for regular check ups as the only thing that could cause you health problems would have to be magical".

There was more but I ignored it and went behind the screen in order to change.

"I'll met you in the canteen!" called out Shayera "I think you're going need a coffee after all that".

Or maybe an aspirin. My headaches never lasted long but they still hurt. Damn self improving brain.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note.**

A guest review asked for some Kara-Gothic one on one. So I put this together for those of you like this partnership.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Domestic **

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

Moving house is normally very stressful. There's a lot to do. Things to be packed. Many boxes had to be acquired. Furniture needed to be loaded onto vans and then unloaded into the new place. And that was just the physical stuff. There was also paper work involved. Payments for bills had to be set up as well.

All of which had been handled by my Kryptonian girlfriend as she zipped around as a blur for almost the entire morning. By lunch time I'd just about managed to sort out my weapons, pack them and then unpack them in the one of the hidden rooms that lay beneath the house. Really it shouldn't have taken that long, but I'd gotten distracted by what I'd found beneath the average looking house. The rooms above the ones I was standing in now looked very normal, and it fact they were as it was actually nothing more than a three-story house.

The top floor was all bedrooms. Three of them to be exact. Guest rooms I'd assumed when first seeing them, and two of them would soon be occupied. Ace was going to live with Kara and I full-time as that was the safest arrangement for her. Not only would the girl have the protection of a fellow meta-human and Supergirl, the young telepathic meta-human couldn't read or alter my mind in any way and Kryptonians have some good mental defences off their own. Granted Ace could read Kara's surface thoughts and even make telepathic contact but she couldn't get into my girlfriend's mind the way she could do with others, so there was no temptation to start messing around with our heads or to rewire our brains.

Blackfire would take the other bedroom as mostly she had no where else to go. Her exile to Earth required her to be a member of the Justice League, and this had been agreed upon to help strengthen relations between the League and the alien planet of Tamaran. Which was something I approved of them doing. It was smart given the tensions here on Earth it was a good idea for the League to make alliances with the rest of the galaxy. The rest of the time she'd be staying her in Jump City because unlike in other parts of the world meta-humans and aliens were more accepted here.

The second floor of the house contained two more bedrooms, a bathroom and the master bedroom with its own en suite. That was going to be my room, and while Kara would have her own space she would be sleeping in my bed. The other bedroom was for Raven, assuming that she ever returned, she really did need her own space due her occult studies, and it wasn't such a bad arrangement really as it showed that I didn't favour either of them when it came to our domestic arrangements.

As for the first floor that contained pretty much what you would expect. A kitchen, a laundry room, a living room, a dining room, and there was even a study. All the rooms had the latest mod cons and the TV alone was easily worth more than a thousand dollars.

Clearly Slade had gone all out when setting this place up, it even had most of the furniture we need already set up. The only odd thing about the place, other than the hidden rooms, was that it had not been lived in. This house had never been anyone's home until now.

Not that I really cared about such things. Interior decorating and design was not something that drew my interest. What did get my attention was the basement.

Upon first glance it did just seem like a small room what could be used for storage or even as a wine cellar. However Kara's X-ray vision had spotted the oddity that was lead shielding. Which had at first made think that the basement had once been a bomb shelter. However a quick investigation had uncovered a hidden door and a staircase which led to a series of rooms hidden beneath the house.

By the looks of things it was Slade's version of the Batcave. It was smaller and it wasn't one large chamber, but it had a lot of what a crime fighter needed to protect a place like Jump City. There was a computer room/lab which had the instruments required to monitor the entire city. There was an armoury, which contained many of the weapons that I knew how to fight with a few I couldn't even hazard a guess as how to use. A fully equipped gym/training room, which I would be making use of a lot. Last of all there was well stocked workshop I had no idea what half the machines did, but before long I was starting to figure some of it out.

So far I'd only managed to get some sort of fabricator working. It was a lot like a 3D printer only it moulded metal rather than plastic. It couldn't make anything larger than a cooking pot, but it was capable of creating things like throwing stars and small blades.

This was handy for me as I had lost a few of my toys during my adventures. The police here always made a good effort to return any tools the Titans had lost while fighting crime, but there was a large market for Super Hero memorabilia. People swapped, sold and even sometimes stole collectables, and in Jump City there were no major celebrities other than the Teen Titans. Which was partly why it was so sad that the group didn't exist any more. However most people in this part of the world didn't tend to treat us heroes as if they were celebrities, we didn't get stalked and the media rarely hounded us either. But still you had the odd person who did obsess over us, and most likely one of them had recovered my missing weapons and kept the tools of my craft for themselves.

Again I didn't really care much about that sort of thing. People could be weird and given that I had mugged the odd mugger, and even stolen a wallet from a burglar. I had no right to judge another person for taking things that didn't really belong to them.

Besides thanks to the machines I'd found, and the all the money I'd inherited from Slade Wilson, I didn't have to worry about paying for replacements. Deathstroke had ensured that his apprentice would be provided for very well.

Currently I was working on my own version of the birdarang. Robin's birdarangs were essentially two crescent blades mounted on a handle. The blades consisted of a strong metal alloy which were had razor-sharpness so that they are capable even of cutting through a large range of materials. However the birdarangs could also be employed to knock an opponent out via blunt force trauma. I'd learned how to throw them to achieve either effect during my early training and I still had a few birdarangs. I'd painted them black to make them look a little different, but that was all.

As for my throwing weapon. It was a small and flat oval, with a skull engraved upon it. This part would be held while the two curved blades on either side of the disc part would do the damage. It was more circler than a birdarang and heavier. Which meant I would have to throw it in a different way, but I could adapt easily enough.

Also my throwing weapons would not be so versatile, or as durable as I lacked the technical knowledge required to create such sophisticated implements of crime fighting. However that didn't mean I couldn't cheat using magic.

Enchanting any weapon was time-consuming process, and doing so didn't actually make the instrument any easier to use. Which was likely why Raven had never bothered to enchant anything of mine. In fact the idea might never of crossed her mind, as she studied the occult to learn new spells and so that she would have the knowledge to defeat mystical foes.

I on the other hand was always looking for spells that would help me to win the next fight. I liked to have plans in place for defeating foes and having magically enhanced weapons would give me more options during a battle. I might be pretty tough by human standards, but compared to some of the threats out there I was still a small fish. So I intended to be a small fish with some sharp teeth.

Upon the prototype skull disc (which was the only name I could think up for the thrown weapon) I had delicately engraved a few words in R'lyehian. If I had done it right, which was questionable at this point, it should enchant the disc in a way that increased the metal's integrity. The word _ehye_ translated as integrity or cohesion. My hope was that this spell would increase the density of the steel I'd used when manufacturing the disc.

Of course it could also weaken the molecular cohesion of the materials. I'd tested the spell verbally upon a piece of wood and the magic had turned into something I could only call sludge. A handy spell if you ever got locked up somewhere as then you could turn a wall into something resembling goo or if you needed to melt something metallic in nature, like say a dangerous weapon, but had no way to generate the heat required. But that wasn't the effect I was going for right now.

Thankfully magic tended to be influenced by a person's intent and emotional state. So as long as I kept focused on what I wanted to achieve and didn't get frustrated the spell should do what I wanted it to. Also if it did work as hoped I could enchant other things. Not just weapons, a spell that increased the molecular cohesion of an object had many uses. For example I could maker my body armour tougher without actually having to increase its weight.

The only flaw my plans was that there were plenty of spells to remove other spells. Which meant that any half decent magic user could undo hours of work with a few words. But on the other hand there were powerful beings in this universe who had no defence against magic. So an enchanted weapon might hurt them.

Just as I carved the last word into the prototype Skulldisc the music I'd been blasting out was turned down. I turned to see Kara, who was carrying a tray of what was most likely my lunch.

"There you are" she said as she sat the tray down "I couldn't find you because of all the lead shielding. I hope you weren't hiding from me".

I gave her a smile and then said.

"Course not love, I was just tinkering".

Kara took a look around and noticed that I had been using a computer to design something and then I'd manufactured it using a rather complex device. She was understandably surprised as I'd never shown much interest in operating machines that weren't for everyday use. Although in my defence I did have a large range of skills I'd still needed to develop.

Creating R'lyehian spells was not easy and since I was the only person, outside of very well hidden cults, that could even use Old Magic I'd had no one to learn from, so I'd had to do a lot of research. Then there were my fighting skills. I could pick up some talents more easily than others, and in order to keep myself at my peak I had to keep training. Add to that my duties and the fact that I'd had girlfriends who needed attention it was no surprise that my plan to get to grips with some of this world's technology hadn't worked out.

Still I wasn't exactly a complete novice when it came to using computers, and I was much better with tools than I use to be as I now had much steadier hands.

Taking off the gloves I'd been wearing I picked up a ham sandwich and was just about to bite into it when Kara picked up the prototype skulldisc.

"You might not want to do that" I warned.

She didn't listen and ended up cutting a finger on one of the blades. It was such a shock to her that she threw the weapon onto a worktop, and then she started to curse in her native tongue.

"What is that thing made of?" she asked.

"Steel" I replied "but its enchanted".

"Magic" she said with concern "isn't that stuff dangerous".

It was actually, but my type of magic seemed to be a lot more predictable than other kinds. Given that it came from a source of chaos it really shouldn't be, but clearly my patron didn't wish me any harm.

"It is" I answered "which is why I'm practising my craft in a lead lined room underground, while by myself".

"Oh yeah," the alien babe said "that makes sense".

Given that magic could hurt her, something she'd just proved, I could see why she'd be nervous about me using the arcane forces of the universe.

She then started sucking on the small wound and then asked me to kiss it better. Which was a bad idea.

"Kryptonian blood has special properties" I reminded "I have no idea how it would effect me. I'm not exactly a normal human being".

No doubt Clark Kent had warned her about such things, and it was hard for us both to remember that we were both a completely different species from each other sometimes.

"Yeah but it might have a good effect" she pointed out.

Then she seemed to get thoughtful before saying.

"Don't drink that milk"

"Why" I asked while giving the glass on the tray a suspicious look.

"Because it breast milk" she supplied "it's mine".

Okay I never would have guessed that. I was so going to need that therapy soon.

"Right then two questions" I said next "Why did you serve me breast milk, and when did you have a baby?"

Kara started to pace the room as if she was trying to buy herself time to think.

"This is really embarrassing" she said to start with "Kryptonian women... lactate when their with a partner who they might want to have children with. It's a bonding thing, like between a baby and mother only it sort of a taste test as well. If it tastes good it means were suited to each other if it doesn't taste good then were wrong for each other, but if your powers work the way I think they do it should taste sweet. It has other effects too, but I have no idea if it work with a human because I've never been in love with a person from this planet before".

That made me pause for a moment as while I'd know that I wasn't her first romantic partner I'd no idea that she'd been in love with him. At some point I would have to discuss that with her but now wasn't the time as this insane issue needed to be dealt with.

"Okay but what does it have to do with my powers?" I questioned.

From I understood about my powers, which had nothing to do with a meta-gene, I could rapidly pick up skills and even develop new talents, but aside from that I was just an immortal who healed rather well and was getting really good at fighting. Sure I was better equipped to survive this insane universe, but how that led to alien breast milk was something that completely befuddled me.

"I'm not sure" admitted my romantic partner "I haven't figured it all out yet, but you know that your powers are all about survival of the fittest. The skills you pick up the fastest are about staying alive and sex".

That was correct. The egg heads up in the Watchtower had a much better understanding of my powers thanks to a lot of testing and prodding. I wasn't actually a meta-human, at least not in the sense of having a meta-gene, I was an improved human who was also an immortal. All my powers were about keeping me alive and successful. That included sexual reproduction as survival of the fittest was also about passing on your genes. In the animal kingdom if you had superior genes, which I did, you got the superior mates. Which in many respects I also did.

"So if your body can change to make you stronger and tougher, then you might change enough that we can make babies. It could take years, and I might be wrong but I'd like to find out if we have a chance to raise a child if it ever happened".

Fair enough. It would be better to know now. I didn't want to raise kids. But then again she did skip forward a thousand years then I might be ready then and there was a good chance that'd actually be waiting for her when she did arrive. At least that was the plan.

"And the taste of your breast milk will tell us that?" I inquired.

This was a weird thing even by the standards of my life.

"No" Kara said before explaining further "I'm lactating because I think you'd be a good father for my children its a sign that I'm willing to have a baby with you. So if you drink it and it tastes good and you feel good then you think I'd be a good mother for your children".

She paused then and started pacing again.

"At least that was how it worked back home. I don't know if it will do anything else to you. You're human and we're under a yellow sun so I really have no idea. But I don't think it could hurt you because it's just milk really, even if did make you a little ill because it tastes really bad, well you don't get sick like at all".

That seemed reckless and I was also a little offended that she had just told me all of this as soon as she'd started to express milk. Then again not to long ago I'd attack her at Slade's order so really I had no right to tell her off because she'd been too embarrassed to confess something very personal.

"I figured I'd just give it a try. If it was sour well... we might never have children so its not that big of a deal".

She might of said that but I could tell that it was in fact a very big deal.

"How can it make me feel good?" I asked next.

Kara stopped and then sighed before crossing her arms. An act that always drew my attention to her chest and to be fair they should really be on my mind given what we were discussing.

"If it tastes good then it induces a slight state of euphoria" she said in a way that made me think she was quoating some form of written material

"Euphoria is..."

"I know what euphoria is" I said interrupting "It's an emotional condition in which a person experiences feelings of extreme happiness".

Then I paused before saying.

"That can be addictive you know. If it contains endorphins then I could become hooked on the stuff".

Addictive breast milk. Just when you think you've prepared for everything life can really throw you a curve ball.

"Don't you become immune to that sort of stuff?" Kara asked, once more sounding concerned.

That was true. I did tend to adapt to resist such things, but that didn't always work. I could no longer become addicated to nicotine but I could still get drunk, so some things still effected me.

"Anyway it's not like I'd cut you off, and its healthy cause its got vitamins and stuff" she while starting to pace even faster.

Again that threw me a little.

"Does that mean it doesn't stop?" I asked, almost in a panic "I thought it was a taste test thing".

Those sort of things don't tend to last long.

"Not unless I get pregnant or stop loving you, but that's not going to suddenly happen and until you drink it I don't know if you love me as much as I love you".

Wow that was a lot of pressure.

"And because we're under a yellow sun, I'm making a lot" she added "if we were on Kypton it wouldn't be much but I'm a total freak here".

Yeah defiantly feeling some increased pressure here. Then again this had be driving her mad as well. Hence why she felt like such a freak.

"You're suppose to drink it from the source" she then further added "it's a bonding thing for partners. Well that was what they told me in sex ed and I know were different species, but you like my breasts, and if it tastes good and makes you happy then what's the harm. I'd be in a way better mood if I wasn't worry about it, and then we could... you know".

That was when I remembered that Kara and I hadn't had sex or even been in bed together much for the last few days. We had been busy, what with closing down the Titans, and then joining the League, but she had to be be missing the affection by now. In fact I was starting to as well but I was more use to being by myself so I'd not gotten depressed about it.

However I didn't appreciate the emotional blackmail she was employing. In fact as I did know some some psychology I even knew what type of emotional blackmail she was employing: Tantalizer's Threat. The whole thing wasn't that far off a parent saying that if I ate all my vegetables then I'd get a nice pudding.

Still if your going to pressure someone into doing something this was the kinder way to do, and she could of gone through with the trick even after cutting herself so I decided to be forgiving about the whole thing.

"Oh what the hell" I muttered "it can't kill me".

With that I grabbed the glass and started drinking it. I'd prepared for bitterness so I was surprised by how sweet it tasted. It wasn't too cloying either not like those surgery and fizzy soda drinks people kept filling the Titan Tower's fridges with.

Plus there was something else.

"Tell me, is it sweet?" Kara practically begged to know.

"Yes" was my answer "kind of reminds of cola only without the bubbles and all the sugar, but it still tastes good. And there's a hint of caffeine, which explains the cola taste I guess".

I really had no idea if it was me or the milk that made it taste that way, and I didn't want to get more freaked out so I didn't ask.

"It's suppose to taste like a sweet drink you enjoy and you do like caffeine so that makes sense".

I did indeed like caffeine, and yeah the milk was really weird if the flavour depended on what I enjoyed drinking. Clearly this was a bizarre super power of some sort.

"So you feel good?" was the next question.

The response wasn't a direct one.

"You know when it's been raining for ages, then you go out to see that's its a really sunny day and it just makes everything seem better. If you could make that into a drink than this would be the flavour".

Which made less sense when said out loud but that was how I felt, and apparently it was an acceptable answer to as I got tackled into a hug by my girlfriend. After that she started planting kisses all over my face as she moved my hands down to her backside. I was just lucky that she was still showing some self control or she might of broken something of mine by now.

As for me I started with neck, I gently bite and kissed her so that it sent shivers running through her body. With my hands I grabbed Kara's blue skirt and then lifted it up.

This made her squirm and since she was pressed into me it felt really good. My very werid but still very sex girlfriend let out a few soft moans of pleasure as I squeezed her ass. My fingers brushed against the cotton fabric cover her pussy, and I could feel how wet she had become already.

"Please, take them off" she pleaded

When she spoke like that it only made me want her more, and I couldn't help but grant her that wish. But first I had to put the ring on her finger otherwise we might end up wreaking the workshop or at the very least I'd get wreaked.

Once she had the ring on I cleared a space on the nearest counter and then I lifted Kara up and moved her so that she was sitting on it. Given that she was shorter than me this putting her on the counter actually made it easier for me to pull her cotton panties right off.

Then after throwing her underwear into the corner of the room I went back to kissing her. I told her to lean back and when she did I lifted up her t-shirt (which was a cheery pink) so that I could kiss her flat stomach. I then kissed my way up and would of gone further, only her top was in the way.

"Take that off" I ordered

She smiled and said.

"With pleasure"

To my surprise I found that she was wearing a bra. She rarely did, as she didn't need to wear them at all and I couldn't remember the last time she worn one at home.

"They're getting bigger" Kara explained "that happens as well".

I hadn't actually noticed that, which was odd because I paid her boobs a lot of attention.

"I've gone up a size in two days, and I think they're going to get bigger" she then informed before making her voice more sexy "and they're all yours, no one else gets to see them or play with them and I'll get them out whenever you want".

Okay so the expressing milk thing was a bit freaky, but there seemed to be a big up side to the whole thing. Her boobs were getting bigger and she clearly wanted to me to spend time playing with them.

She then removed the bra so I could get a good look at them. They were in fact bigger than ever and still somehow incredibly firm.

"What do you think?" she asked me.

Rather than say anything I passionately kissed her on the lips before moving down to her neck, before moving back to her lips and kissing her for a while so that she could suck on my tonuge.

Then I went for the more powerful then ever Super Boobs. After giving them a good squeeze I checked to see Kara's reaction. Her eyes were closed and she was biting her lower lip. She so wanted more.

I started slowly, knowing that this would drive my girlfriend to the point were she beg me for sex. I loved it when she did that. Having a goddess beg you to use her for your pleasure was such a rush.

By now I was kissing the side of her breast moving up, going from one to the other, never kissing in the same spot twice and I didn't get too close to her nipples.

After hearing say please a few times I finally I gave in to her. I was kissing and sucking on her nipples. I felt a little liquid enter my mouth, but only a little and it tasted nice. So overall the experience wasn't freaking me out as much as I thought it might.

Kara groaned as sher hands wrapped around my shoulders and she started to squezze. If she hadn't been depowered as much as she was something would of broken by now. If not for the fact that I was super human I was sure I'd of gotten brusies from this.

Not that I would of cared, it's hard to care about that sort of thing when you've got Supergirl's breasts shoved into your face.

It wasn't until I stopped with my fun that Kara found the brainpower to speak.

"Fuck me" she requested.

I badly wanted her to, but I also enjoyed it when she begged. She knew that to and so she batted her eyelids and gave me a smile.

"Please, pretty please".

Not begging really but I never could resit that look. So I got undressed and then got inside her.

It didn't take Kara long to reach climax, which was to be expected as she must of been close when we'd started. I could tell that her breasts were very sensative and all that teasing had gotten her so worked up that by the time I'd suckled on her she looked as if her brain had mostly switched off. Now she looked like it totally melted and I wasn't even close yet.

Thankfully for me Kara was the kind of girl who left her man unsatisfed. She was able to think enough to move into a postion that let me use her body for my pleasure and she started speaking in her native laungage. I had no idea what she was saying, and it didn't sound like her useal dirty talk either, but she was smiling while saying it so it must of been something good.

It didn't stop until I really started ponding her, and she soon switched to English so that she could beg me to use her. Which of course I did and she greatly enjoyed it. She told me more than once that rough sex made her feel like a girl, but it made me seem like the big strong man. Not that I wasn't strong by human standerds it was just that without the ring she was a goddess. At least in my view.

"Feeling better?" I asked once I was done.

A big smile told me that she did indeed feel better, and the sight of her using her fingers to gather up some of my cum so she could get a taste proved that she feeling much than just better.

"Yeah everything's great" she said after sucking on her finger and letting me see her big smile "not knowing is the worse, but when you know it all becomes wonderful".

As she started to recover her clothes I heard myself tell her that I loved her. I hadn't meant to say that and I couldn't remember saying it before, but it was true.

"Oh you knew what I was saying".

She then went squee and then to hug me again. Thankfully she didn't take her ring off until after she'd tried to crush my spin. I would of told her that I didn't know what she meant but that required the ability to breathe out.

That was when I realised that the alien speak earlier had been about love. I hadn't understood a word of it, but the feeling behind the words made more sense now.

"I'll let you get back to work" she told me once she had let go of me "I've got some stuff to take care of. I'll catch up with you at dinner. I'll cook something nice".

Before I could ask her about what she still had to do she left in a blur. Only to come right back when she realised that she was still half naked. This time she got dressed and then skipped out of the room rather than race off.

Defianly love. Nothing else could be so sappy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Reviews ** **tylermech66**

Kara is indeed awesome. I'm really tempted to start writing DC Gothic – LOSH after she goes to the future, just so I can keep the character in the spotlight.

**Dark0w1 **

I've written a lot more recently. My home life has calmed down so I have the time now.

**Joe Lawyer**

Oh he will do more training and work to pick up new skills, but a lot of his time is taken up with being a Justice League member and a boyfriend. He's also looking after Ace, as you'll see later, and will be working along with Blackfire. But that's okay as he learns best by being shown how to do things. A training program wouldn't benefit him as much as on the job training does anyway.

When it comes to killing I think most heroes are afraid of what it would turn them into.

Take Superman for example, if he used his powers to kill every person who was a murderer, where would he draw the line? Does everybody whose killed somebody deserves to die? What about a drunk driver who hits someone and the person they hit dies? Does the driver deserve to be killed with heat vision?

This was what a lot of Superman versus The Elite was about. By the end The Elite were no better than the people they killed.

Also Superman won't kill because he's scared of what it will turn him into. We've seen that in his Justice Lord counterpart and in Injustice Gods Among Us. Whenever Superman crosses that line it ends with him ruling over the Earth as a tyrant.

Batman doesn't kill because of his own past, and because he swore to let the courts do their work. He supports due process and the rule of law, so if he killed people he'd go from being a crime fighter to being a criminal.

Other heroes think that they need to be examples of what people should be like. They disapprove of killing as they believe people shouldn't kill each other. So how can they claim to stand up for their high ideals if they don't represent them.

My character in this story is different. He has no desire to be a guiding light for humanity. He will kill to protect people he cares about, and that doesn't work out for the best in the end. He becomes the world's best assassin as Shadow Knight and Dark Angel. At that point he is a lot like Deathstroke, so the heroes who judged in the last chapter are right. He does turn into the very thing he swore to destroy. Granted he was never as bad Slade, but he could have been if he'd carried on working for Amanda Waller.

Starfire understood after she went to the future, but despite the efforts she made she was only able to delay Gothic's fall. Batman also knows this can happen, which is part of why he brought Gothic into the Batclan. Bruce is trying to show Gothic that his way is better without lecturing him. Like Superman would do if his cousin would let him. Green Lantern was trying to be a drill sergeant, because he has a military background, but he did that because he does want he thinks is best for Gothic. None of them are bad people they do care about him, they just don't understand him.

Of course if the heroes were willing to accept Gothic's methods he might never have become Dark Angel, but if they were willing to turn a blind eye then they wouldn't be the moral people that they are.

Overall it's a complex issue. Lots of people have lots of different opinions. What matters in this part of the story is that Gothic has to play by the League's rules in order to stay a member, and he'll do that because despite his own view he is a hero. He's just not the kind of hero that other people want him to be.

I'm glad people liked the Big Bang Theory bit.

The Nth metal sword? Nothing happened to it. He doesn't use it as the Welsh Dragon, as that is a separate superhero identity from Gothic. He doesn't use it as Shadowflight either. He doesn't want everyone to know that they all are the same person.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Shadowflight Returns. **

****The Docks - Gotham City – October 2002** **

It was raining, that seemed to happen a lot in Gotham, so much so that the city was starting to make me home sick for good old soggy England. Granted Gotham was a lot more scary looking, what with the imposingly tall buildings, gargoyles and all the crime. Even during the day the place had a very gloomy vibe, as it was currently the dead of night the effect was a hundred times worse.

Still it wasn't all bad, I had no reason to fear being murdered and my Shadowflight costume kept me warm as well as dry even on this wet autumn evening. It was a lot like Nightwing's outfit only it had a dash of dull silver rather than blue. The silver had been added to the suit more recently, to make it more clear that there was a connection between Shadowflight and the Batclan.

That my Batclan uniform was a close copy of Richard Grayson's was no confidence. Batman hadn't had the time needed to make something new so he had simply modified one of Nightwing's spares that were kept in the Batcave. It was bulkier than the one used by the former Robin, but since I hadn't been raised as an acrobat I didn't need such a flexible suit.

Overall I liked the outfit, even it was a little body hugging in certain place, but I'd only worn the suit a couple of times, as I'd hadn't spent much time in this city. Which was totally understandable given what had happened to me during my road trip at the start of this year.

Back then I'd been very worried about what the Joker might do to Tim Drake. After telling the Batman the story, he too had become concerned about the Boy Wonder going on solo patrols. So I'd been fitted out and sent along as backup. Thankfully nothing had happened to Tim, which was good because a lot of the time I'd supposed to have been on patrol had been taken up by Catwoman.

Thinking on that made me reach for the Eye of the Panther, that was tucked away in my utility belt. It was one of a matching pair of strange green jewels, that dated back to ancient Egypt.

The odd thing about the set was that they were magical. If you had one you could find the other. You just seemed to know and I had once used my gem to track down a kidnapped Selena Kyle.

As it had turned out the whole thing had been a test set up by the near-immortal Ra's al Ghul. A test of what exactly I to this day didn't really understand, but I must of passed since I was still engaged to his daughter. Boy was that going to cause problems one day.

"Thinking about Selena?" inquired Richard Grayson.

Another reason why it was so appropriate for me to be wearing my Shadowflight outfit was that I was currently working along with Nightwing on an important case.

It hadn't been planned, in fact the whole thing had started off when Kara had decided to go and visit Barbara Gordon, who was now living with Grayson in the city of Bludhaven. I'd met Richard before, and he'd been fun to hang with, so I'd figured that the two of us could chill while the girls did whatever they wanted to do.

However Batman was busy with the League and there was something happening down in the docks tonight. Two gangs were meeting for an unknown reason and Nightwing had decided to be there. I'd tagged along mostly because Kara and Barbara were planning to watch a chick flick, and it had seemed best to flee upon hearing about. Richard hadn't minded because he'd known that he'd be spending a few hours watching the docks. He'd figured that some company would help to pass the time.

"Just remembering the last time I was in Gotham" I eventually answered.

"You had quite a good time judging by what Tim told me" Nightwing said with a big grin.

I'd forgotten to close the radio channel so when Tim Drake had reopened it on his end he'd heard what I was up to. I doubted that he would have listened in for long if not for the fact that he'd known how Raven had felt about me even back then.

Nightwing had also been the one to explain to me what the Eyes of the Panther were actually for. Without that knowledge I might not of kept the gem stone, and that would have been bad for Miss Kyle.

"Selena's one hell of a lady" remarked Grayson "something we both know very well".

Unlike him my face was fully covered, so it must have been something in my body language that told him how I was surprised to hear him say that.

"Catwoman and I worked together on a case a while back" Nightwing explained "she was just using me, but damn didn't she made it worth my while. I still have a scar to remember her by".

Wow, Selena must have a thing for tall, dark and handsome heroes. No doubt The Bat had a few scars as well. Maybe she liked to mark her mates because she'd tried to cut my chest enough to leave one, but I healed too well for that.

"Well she's over there somewhere" I informed while pointing out to sea "very far away".

My magical powers always seemed to be growing stronger, so it made sense that I will be able to use enchanted items better than I use to. Wanting to test this I focused my attention on the gem stone and felt a brief rush of excitement followed by joy.

"I think she's on a job" I told the first Robin "she just got the kind of big rush you get when you've done something really difficult".

Since I could sense that over such a distance I could only assume that Catwoman had her Eye on the Panther on her person. Odd thing for a cat to do as felines don't tend to form attachments to their mates, and she'd never turned up in Jump City. Unlike a certain make up wearing whack job I'd once had some fun with.

Maybe Selena wanted me to find her so I'd chase her and then fight her again. Heck for Catwoman that could be considered foreplay, she was a bit crazy. Not that this would happen, but it was nice to think that she kept a memento of our short time together.

"You've come along way since then" Nightwing commented "last time we hung out you were getting into all sorts of trouble and the boss had to rescue you".

I sort of recalled that. I'd been pretty out of it at the time, but I did have a hazy memory of throwing up inside the Batmoblie. Although that may of just been a nightmare.

"Now your this powerful magic user whose in the Justice League, and you have Supergirl living in your house".

The last ten months or so had been very intense, and I had greatly grown in both power and skill. Also things had gone from strange to down right crazy, that was just my love life.

"Things have changed for you" I reminded "you've got Batgirl living with you, that's awesome".

I'd only just met her and I Barbara Gordon was already one of my favourite people in the world. She had a good sense of humour. She also seemed to treat Kara as a friend and as her own person, rather than just the big boy scouts kid cousin, so that made her cool in my books. Plus Nightwing lived in an old fire station, which was also so cool. The place looked abandoned on the outside, but on the inside it was a home and the nerve centre of a one man crime fighting business. I suspected that perhaps one day soon it would be a two person operation. Miss Gordon still worked and lived in Gotham, but given how comfortable she'd looked at Richard's place, she must have spent a lot of time there over the past few months.

"She is great" Grayson admitted with a warm smile.

With that said we both spent a few moments wondering what our partners were up to.

(Line Break)

****Nightwing's Hideout - Bludhaven – October 2002** **

On the top floor of the converted fire house Kara Kent and Barbara were both dry and warm. They had wrapped themselves in fluffy towels and equally fluffy robes, and then given themselves what amounted to a home-made spa treatment. This had involved nail polish, a few different kinds of crème, some of which was now coated on their faces, as well as other things that no straight man could ever figure out.

The end result were two young women who looked very happy and smelled rather good even if they did look a little scary right now.

After all that had came two glasses of wine and two bowls full ice cream, both of which were expensive. Which you would expect when it came to good wine, but really how costly could it be to make mint chocolate ice cream.

Kara was loving ever moment of it. All of the evening had been so normal, and after everything that had happen over the last few weeks she was really grateful that she had a night off. So far this month had been stressful, she'd moved into a new home with her boyfriend and then had found herself falling in love as well getting a bit broody. Not the sullen kind of brooding but the wanting to have babies kind. She didn't want to have children now, even if her body had its own opinions, but that hadn't been the problem. The whole lactating thing had been extremely embarrassing, but it had worked out okay, and now she put those troubles behind her and enjoy a girl's night while the romantic partners of her self and her best friend went out, and hit things with sticks.

"This movie is a legend" Barbara Gordon said as she put the tape in the VHS player "every girl at my college says that it's impossible to see more than half an hour of this film, and not cry. It's that sappy".

Given that the tape was ninety minutes long that was a whole lot of crying.

"It's also suppose to be watched with your boyfriend, because you will need a shoulder to cry on, and by the end you won't even need him to make a move" added the off duty Batgirl "I heard it gets a little adult at the end".

Both of the young women looked at each other and burst into giggles.

"Yeah like some movies going to make us cry" said Kara with a confident smirk.

The last bit didn't sound bad at all as she was in a really good mood, but she had no intention of getting all weepy because of a video.

"Right sister" agreed Barbara "we're 21st Century women, strong, confident and independent we don't need a man's shoulders to cry on".

After that declaration Batgirl pressed play and joined Supergirl on the couch, as the movie started to started filling her mouth with popcorn while steeling herself so that no sappy scene would get to her.

Less than an hour later Kara and Barbara were weeping so much that they were at the risk of running out of paper tissues.

"That's so sweet" the alien babe said between sobs "I can't believe he kept those photos"

Kara then filled her mouth with more ice cream while trying to wipe her eyes, it got quite messy.

"I know and the plane crash that was so tragic" added the female native of planet Earth

At some point decided that an entire can of whipped creamed needed to be eaten, and she wasn't going to be dignified about it.

After that the two women buried their heads into nearby pillows as an even more sappy scene came on the screen.

(Line Break)

****The Docks - Gotham City – October 2002** **

"I bet they're just watching a movie" Nightwing said.

Any further comments on that subject would never be made as the two heroes soon spotted a group of cars entering the docks. A nearby ship at anchor turned on some lights as the motor vehicles came to a stop. This was were the deal would go down.

"Time to go to work" Grayson whispered as he took out his telescoping staff.

Given that Richard had trained Tim in use of that weapon it was no surprise to me that he also made use of them. I had quite a few now as Slade had also liked to hit things with big sticks. Sometimes I just had to wonder who I'd picked up that habit from.

"Wait until I give the signal" instructed Batman's apprentice "then take down the guys with the Tommy guns, before you hit the boss. He'll be in Rolls Royce".

The Tommy Gun guys were the local trouble makers, the muscle of some crime boss who though it would be easier to do business with some out-of-town trouble makers while the Bat so busy with the Justice League.

He was so wrong about that.

"What's the signal?" I asked, as I took out my collapsible staff.

"People in pain" was the answer.

Well at least it would be easy to remember.

The rest of the plan wasn't that complex either to be honest, even if it was important enough that Batman would only trust his apprentice to handle this for him.

Nightwing had the most experience so he would take on the group on the boat as they were more spread about. I would be by the cars, the thugs there were closer together. One smoke bomb in the middle would make taking down the rest nearly effortless. The boss might be trickier as by the time I took his goons down he would have time to drive off or to make a run for it.

I wasn't wearing the belt that allowed me to fly, as this mission required some stealth. Also we needed the Gotham Police to find these guys once they had been tipped off by 'a concerned citizen'. So if I used magic it wouldn't look like the Batman could have been involved. This mission was also about reminding the criminal scum of who Gotham city really belonged to.

Those weren't my kind of methods, but this wasn't my town. Batman wouldn't come to Jump City and start dangling my foes off rooftops, so I would not come here and threaten people with guns or summon Old One Spawn when in his town.

Nimbly I leapt onto a shipping crate and then used that one to get on top of three stacked ones. From this height I could see the two groups of criminal scum. The natives of this city were clumped together and armed with those Tommy guns, but thankfully their attention was focused on the crooks on the boat.

Since there were no screams or even loud grunts of pain I simply kept watch and made sure that my tools of the trade were ready for use.

Then came a scream as someone fell off the boat and into the water. Given that the ship was docked it was very unlikely that someone had fallen overboard by accident.

"_Kadishtu nilgh'ri r'luh uaaah" _I whispered as I threw the smoke bomb.

Okay so I would use a little magic, but I did need to make sure that I'd kept practicing all of my talents.

The spell worked as well as ever and the smoke vanished, but only for me. The thugs were choking and wiping their eyes so I knew the bomb had been effective. With the advantage of clear vision, and a mask that filtered the air for me, I was easily able to knock out the hoodlums. A couple of the bad guys ran for it, but I had been prepared for this.

Strapped to my thigh was a chakram, a weapon made famous by Xena: Warrior Princess. It was a ring of enchanted steel that looked like a hollow Frisbee. I threw the chakram and it knocked the guy out and then bounced in such a way that it went on to hit the other runner in the head as well.I hadn't been able to master throwing to the point were I could get it to hit people and then catch it, but it was only a matter of time before I perfected the use of this weapon.

Moving fast I made the staff in my left hand expand and then firmly gripped it. My next move was to jump on top of the car so that when the driver stepped out he got hit in the head before he could do anything other than curse.

As fast as that was it wasn't quick enough to prevent the man coming out the passenger door at the back of the car from reaching for his weapon. However I was still fast to knock the weapon out of his hand, and the to hit him in the head in order to knock him out.

For just a second my head was filled with the memory of Kara calling me a caveman while she'd been watching me hit a practice dummy the other day. Actually she'd called me 'her big, sexy caveman' but it wasn't until now that I realised that I really did so like hitting people with sticks. It was all very primitive. Then again given how advanced her people had been calling me a cavemen was being generous.

Those thoughts came to an end as someone came out of one of the other parked cars. This lawbreaker was older than the others, judging by the grey hair and he was wearing an expensive suit so I assumed that this was the big boss man. He was my main target.

In his hand the crime boss had a pistol. It was not a 9mm or anything more advanced, it looked like an old fashioned revolver only it brand new, and it was black and silver. I so had to have it.

So I took it, and I did not ask nicely.

"Oh God! My hand! You broke it!" complained the bad guy.

"You should be more worried about the state of your face" I said the soon to be knocked out man.

To the crook's credit he figured out what I meant before I even hit him. Still the end result was the same.

"Are you done yet?" asked Nightwing, as I removed the bullets from the weapon and tucked the gun into my belt.

"Did you finish your lot already?" I question.

"Sure" the more experienced crime fighter replied "I even got the chance to see you throw that disc".

Showing off, Nightwing span the chakram while balancing it on the tip of one of his fingers.

"Where did you get this form" the former Boy Wonder inquired "and what's with the weird writing?"

"I made it" I explained "and the writings a spell. It makes the metal more durable".

"So it's a magic throwing disc" said Nightwing "that's cool".

He seemed to rather like it, so I told him he could have it.

"I can always make more" I assured him after he'd refused the offer "that's just the prototype anyway, the next one will be better".

Since he wasn't as stubborn as his mentor Nightwing simply said thank you. Clearly he wasn't one to say no to the offer a useful tool. He didn't have super powers, so it would be foolish for him not to make sure he had the widest range of equipment it was possible to have.

Then the first Robin showed off again by throwing the chakram and then catching it after it bounced off a few shipping crates.

"Yeah you should have that" I said while feeling very impressed.

That was when we heard the sirens and knew it was time to head home.

(Line Break)

****Nightwing's Hideout - Bludhaven – October 2002** **

Since we had our bikes it didn't take us long to get back to the old fire station, and we did the both of us headed up to get changed. Only things didn't go quiet to plan as soon as we entered the living area we both assaulted by our respective girlfriends.

The two of them had been crying, but they didn't seem to be any sort of pain so I had no idea what the problem was.

"What's wrong" Nightwing and I asked at the same time.

Kara wasn't de-powered so only my own natural toughness and body forming Kevlar armour I wore as part of the Shadowflight suit, allowed me to keep breathing as she hugged me.

"Romantic film" my girlfriend told me "it got me all weepy"

"How sappy was it?" I inquired.

"Grande Histoire D'Amour" Batgirl answered.

That didn't lessen my confusion, but Nightwing understood what had happened.

"Oh that one" Grayson said with a sigh "I've heard it makes everyone cry".

"Great Romance Story" I translated "some sort of French art film I'm guessing".

"The ending's suppose to be quite... adult" Grayson "but a tasteful way from what I understand".

Maybe I should get the DVD?

"Yeah we're going to bed now" Barbara Gordon told her boyfriend before turning to Kara and saying with a wink "you can use the guest room if you want to stay the night".

"Apparently it's better than I heard" Nightwing commented as was he pulled towards the bedroom.

I didn't fail to notice that the off-duty Batgirl had a can of whipped crème in other hand. Someone was getting very lucky tonight.

"Yeah we're staying here" decided Kara as she picked up the melted remains of her ice cream "you're so going to give me that ring".

"Oh is that right" I said with a smirk "are you going to say please?"

Kara smiled in reply before saying.

"No I'm going to cover parts of my body in ice cream, and let you decide what happens after that".

"Best girlfriend ever!"


	6. Chapter 6

**DarkAvenger001**

I don't know any anime/manga universes well enough to write about them.

**Joe Lawyer**

I thought it was a rather clever idea when it popped into my head. I wanted something to show that Kara is Kryptonian, she's not a human being, even if she act like one, so it seemed natural for them to have to deal with that. The milk thing is strange, but it's something they can handle and accepting that she is an alien brings them closer together.

Also I got the impression that Kryptonians might mate for life as Clark's love for Lois Lane never seems to diminish. In fact for him it's a very intense love. It might be because of his upbringing with the Kents. But I thought maybe Kara would feel like that about Gothic in this story, because for her species that's how mating works.

It makes her staying the future more understandable as well. In the 21st Century Gothic can't settle down and devote himself completely to Kara. However a thousand years later he's free to be her life partner, which given that Kara could live for centuries it is a big commitment.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Black Mercy **

**The Fortress of Solitude – The North Pole – October **

"What did you get him?" Batman asked of us all as we made our way through the tunnel that led into the fortress.

As expected Wonder Woman had the new kind of rose that was named after Krypton. Seemed a bit of a sissy to me, but I wasn't going to say anything as offending Wonder Woman can led to pain.

"I'm not saying anything" Kara answered as she walked alongside me.

I knew exactly what it was, but I was saying nothing about that either, as I wanted a piece of the yummy cake she had baked for her cousin.

"He'll hear and spoil the surprise" she then added in a hushed whisper, as if it was all a big consipercy.

"He has X-ray vision" pointed out the Dark Knight "so he can just peek".

Kara smiled and then said.

"I know he told me that he used to do that so he could see what he was getting for Christmas. He still does".

Sometimes Big Blue was also such a big kid.

"Show him what you got, honey" requested my girlfriend.

I was very proud of this gift. It was something I'd inherited from Slade, and even Kara hadn't known that it was from her home world. She'd thought that I'd just engraved the S symbol into a five sided piece of metal. Even I'd thought it was something along those lines at first, but after using the lab that was hidden below my house I'd analysed the metal as best I could.

When I'd gotten nowhere with that. Kara had tried and had told me that it was as dense as lead but weighed far less. Which meant it wasn't from Earth because lead was the only metal found here that she and her cousin couldn't see through. Not counting the enchanted metals I made, but that was magic, which according to her is cheating.

Also like the metals I added magic to, this alien metal could make Kara bleed. She'd cut herself on it, and since I knew it wasn't supernatural that confirmed that it was something well beyond human science.

However what was really freaky was after the blood touched it the piece of five sided metal would float above the palm of her hand. Then it would rotate slowly. Neither of us could figure out why, but since it reacted to her blood it had to be from her home world and the symbol on it meant it was from the House of El.

"It's a kryptonian artefact" I explained while holding up the heavy lead lined box "I figured it belonged here, and I'm sure he'd love to examine it".

The Dark Knight nodded his agreement while Wonder Women remarked that it could also be very valuable.

Wonder Woman then looked over at Batman and noticed that he didn't have a present in his hands.

"How about you?" she asked of him.

"He's not the easiest person in the world to buy birthday presents for" he replied as he lifted up a sealed white envelope.

Wonder Woman seemed quite shocked to see the envelope.

"Bruce, you didn't get him a gift certificate, did you?" she asked in a scolding tone.

Those two were so doing it. She was chiding Batman just like a girlfriend would do in this sort of situation.

"No its _cash_." he explained as he stuffed the envelope back into his belt.

For some reason this made Wonder Woman smile at him.

"I mean what do you buy for the man who has everything..." Batman began.

He stopped talking when he heard Wonder Woman gasp at the sight before us. Superman was just standing there, stock still with a zoned out look upon his face. But that was not the weirdest thing about him. Stuck on his chest was a strange looking creature.

I then knew what as going on.

"Black Mercy" I muttered.

Batman moved forward, and then said.

"I was wondering if this would happen. Your future knowledge suggested as much, but with the changes in the time line I couldn't be certain".

"What is going on?" Wonder Woman demanded to know.

"It does look like some kind of plant" Batman surmised as he completely ignored the Amazon Warrior "Seems to be growing through his costume and…into his body".

Given that there was little on this planet that could break Superman's skin, we all knew then just how dangerous this life form was.

"Is he breathing?" Diana asked out of concern for her close friend.

"Barely" replied The Batman while continuing to inspect the plant.

"Yeah but that's not the problem" I reminded the Dark Knight

"Right, Mongul " Bruce said with a growl.

Mongul had been the ruler of an oppressed planet where alien gladiators had battled endlessly in an effort to distract the masses from their poverty and suffering. Mongul's tyranny was brought to and end thanks to the actions of Superman and the Martian Manhunter.

"He's the one who forced Superman to fight in War World" I informed in case the name didn't ring any bells for the two ladies in the group.

"Looks like he thought it was a gift" Kara said as she picked up a container and began to examine the metal canister that was lying on the ground next to Superman's feet "its lead lined so he couldn't of known it was dangerous until he opened it".

"And since he opened it that means he thought it was from someone trustworthy" Batman added "a grateful world, or maybe even one of us".

I doubted he was including me in that statement.

"How remarkable. You animals really are _almost_ intelligent, aren't you?"

The alien was even uglier than the cartoon series portrayed. His skin was a sickly yellow, and the purple clothing he wore clashed with his complexion in such a way as to make his appearance seem even worse.

"Mongul" Batman growled again.

Clearly the Dark Knight did not like this fellow, but who could? There was nothing about this despot to like.

"You recognize me, I'm flattered." Mongul said as he made his way down the stairs and walked over towards us

He was arrogant enough to think that he had the situation fully under his control. I knew this because he seemed to be completely relaxed, despite the fact that all of must of looked as if wanted to beat the shit out of him.

"I suppose Superman told you all about our previous encounter?"

I'd seen it. A few times actually.

"You mean the time he utterly defeated you?" Batman replied.

"A somewhat _jondest_…account" Mongul said as he began to inspect the group.

"What inferior specimens he surrounds himself with" the alien remarked "human animals and a little girl".

With that Mongul hit Kara so hard that she went flying into the wall hard enough to crack the ice, and to make the entire room shake.

"I took her down easily enough And I'll take this planet _just_ as easily."

As expected I felt anger began to stir in me as I saw how hurt Kara looked, and the fire appeared in my hands but something was wrong. I didn't feel mad enough to use the demonic flames as a weapon. I was calming down and the fire began to fade.

It wasn't hard to figure out why given how calm I felt. I was doped up on Kara's milk. To much happiness, sure it was good for me physically and I felt better than ever emotional, but the side effect was that I couldn't feel the rage needed to call upon my dark powers.

Thankfully I didn't need to as Wonder Woman was putting up a good fight, and just because I wasn't able to get mad that didn't mean I was lacking for other tricks. But before I could go and help the Amazon Warrior I heard my girlfriend call out to me.

"Power armour. It's the lab near my room!"

Now I remembered that Kara had brought the armour here for upgrades. If I could get to it in time I might be able to make a difference.

"GO!" shouted out Batman "Both of you. Diana can't stop him alone".

With that I ran and I felt the gust of wind that I always sensed when Kara used her super speed.

(Line Break)

"The Black Mercy is a telepathic species. It reads the hearts' desire and feeds the individual a totally convincing simulation of it" Batman muttered.

He remembered those words as Gothic had quoted them to him directly. Apparently it had been one of his favourite episodes. Of course the reality was more upsetting, but on the plus side it did mean that Bruce knew what he needed to do now. It was pointless to try and cut the creature off, or try to burn it.

"So that means he'll be dreaming" Batman said to himself as he remembered that part of a long conversation with Shadowflight earlier in the year.

"_It will be more than a dream" _Gothic had said _"the Black Mercy will read his mind and will trap Superman in a fantasy world so wonderful that he won't ever want to leave, but he'll have to stop Mongul"._

"Listen to me Clark" said the Batman "Kara and Diana are fighting Mongul, but even between them they might not win. If he kills them then he will try to conquer this world. Millions will die. Unless you wake up!"

(Line Break)

After crashing through the wall and slamming into a display that was made up of advanced Earth weapons, and even deadlier alien ones. Wonder Woman fell to the ground and struggled to stand up again.

Meanwhile Mongul made his way through the newest hole in the wall. The Amazon Princess had hurt him a little, but this was only a temporary setback. She was no match for him and the little blonde girl lacked the raw might of Superman, so she couldn't stop him either.

As he walked through the wall, Wonder Woman looked around and grabbed a strange looking weapon. Which she then aimed right at Mongul. He wasn't really worried as such weapons couldn't kill him, but he did know this was going to sting just a bit.

"Oh dear, is that a high-energy ionizer? I didn't know they were still making those" the ugly alien said as he lumbered forward.

As he moved closer, Diana took aim and while she didn't open fire she badly wanted to.

"I recommend you to try the atomic disrupter. It's more suitable for the ladies, the ionizer that's a man's weapon" mocked Mongul.

That had been the wrong thing to say.

"Go…to…Tartarus" said the Amazon warrior, and with that she fired the high-energy ionizer

The beam slammed into Mongul who just took the hit and then pushed through the beam, Diana could look on in dismay. This weapon could hurt Superman, but this strang being was only being slowed down by it. Clearly Mongul was nothing like anything she had faced before

Just as Mongul managed to make his way over to her, the yellow skinned tyrant suddenly found himself being sent into a wall. Supergirl was going to show the alien exactly why she sometimes called the Maid of Might.

Sadly she'd underestimated Mongul and was soon the one getting a beating. But she didn't have to suffer long as Wonder Women fired again.

However once the weapon finished discharging, Mongul stood unharmed.

"You can't stop me" the evil alien gloated.

Taking aim again, she fired only for Mongul to grab the weapon by the barrel and crush it. Upon crushing it he then tossed it away and grabbed Diana by her throat with his right hand, the Amazon princess tried to counter with a left hook to his face, but he just ignored as he wrapped his other hand around her throat. Then he started chocking the very life out of her.

That was when she was saved again, but this time it was not by Supergirl. The Welsh Dragon had made a sudden and surprise appearance. Well it was a surprise Mongul, as he had no idea where the guy in the power armour had come from or who he was.

After landing a few blows,. Gothic backed off and let lose a burst of white hot flame. His demonic powers weren't working, but the Dragon armour was better than ever.

Mongul wasn't actually burned, but he did back off. However that just gave the immortal a chance to shoot the yellow-skinned alien with fission blaster.

Again this didn't do much more than slow the bad guy down, but it did give Supergirl time to catch her breath and soon she was punching and kicking Mongul so hard that he went through another wall.

That was when the Welsh Dragon attacked again. More energy bolts struck the villain, and while they were less than bee stings they still hurt Mongul just a little. But what really did the harm was that Kara was also using her heat vision. Even Mongul couldn't dismiss that sort of attack.

Being a veteran warrior Wonder Woman knew when team work was needed. She grabbed another exotic weapon and fired into the hole in the wall. That was when Mongul screamed out in pain.

Still it wasn't enough. The yellow skinned monster (you couldn't someone like him a man) came charging out of the whole while roaring in rage.

He slapped the Welsh Dragon aside so hard that the immortal bounced off a wall and then landed, crushing a display case with his weight. Supergirl tried to keep fighting but she was no match for Mongul as they wrestled. The Princess couldn't get a clear shot either not until after Kara was driven into the ground, by then it was too late.

"First I'll kill you and then your little armoured friend over there. The blonde I'll have some fun with. After that I'll take this whole planet" the bad guy gloated as he once more tried to strangle her with both of his hands.

"You…won't…win" Diana sputtered out as she attempted to pry his hands away from her neck.

"Of course I will." Mongul retorted in a very sinister tone.

He then grabbed her by the head with one hand and lifted her up before slamming her down into the ground like he had done with Supergirl. Mongul then raised his foot and slammed it into her ribs, causing her to scream out in intense pain.

She might have died then and there, if Dragon hadn't somehow gotten back up again. His attacks were feeble, as the armour he wore was damaged, but it did distract the bad guy long enough for Kara to blast the yellow skinned alien with her heat vision.

"Don't any of you people ever just die!" shouted out Mongul.

"I can't die!" called out Gothic as he opened fire once more.

(Line Break)

Clark's facial expressions began to change as he began to fight the plant's telepathic control. While this was happening, Batman was pulling on the Black Mercy as hard as he could, trying to detach it from his friend's body.

Bruce knew what would happen if the plant came off, but he could deal with that if meant the world could have Superman back.

"Fight it Clark…fight it" the Dark Knight said as he used all this strength to try and remove the plant.

That was when Gothic came flying into the room, but not by choice, and he slammed into the two other heroes. The Black Mercy did not like that, and it tried to neutralise what it thought to be an attacker. Which in turn led to the Welsh Dragon trying to fight the plant creature.

The Caped Crusader tried to help, but he'd been hurt by the impact. However he didn't need to give aid as the plant latched on to Gothic, and then went from trying to get closer to the immortal to trying to get away.

Even wounded the Dark Knight's mind was as keen as ever and he soon realised what was happening.

Gothic had powerful mental shields that no telepath in the League could penetrate or bypass. Even Ace a meta-human with a mind so powerful that she could drive millions insane over their television screens couldn't defeat those shields. This meant that the Black Mercy had no way of subduing the immortal. On some level the alien life form knew his as well and was trying to get away.

(Line Break)

As Princess Diana lay there on the ground struggling to bring her breathing under control. Supergirl was currently doing her best to defeat Mongul.

Knowing that she didn't have the raw power of her cousin, at least not yet, she'd grabbed a Thanagrin weapon she'd borrowed from her boyfriend. She'd been planning to see if she could improve on the weapon as it was rather awkward for him to use, but she had much greater strength and speed so the weapon was much easier for her to fight with.

Mongul caught the powerful axe with his bar hands but was surprised to feel the brute strength pushing the powerful weapon down onto him.

He would of expected such great strength if he was fighting Superman, but he had no expected this girl to be able to achieve a level of might that wasn't that far behind the Man of Steels.

Also he didn't expect that the axe was some sort of energy weapon. Something like electricity danced across the surface of the metal, and that really hurt the yellow skinned despot.

"ARGH!"

Mongul howled in pain again as another blow sent him reeling into the far wall. Clearly Kara was not holding back now, and it was a clear that she got very upset when bad people threw her boyfriend through a wall. Which was perfectly understandable.

However this still didn't prove to be enough, as while the alien despot did look as if he'd been badly hurt by the axe, he wasn't out of the fight yet.

"If that was your best effort," Mongul began to say as he cracked his neck, "then I guess I'll be having my fun sooner than I thought".

Kara would be spared finding out what that meant that meant as her cousin was now back in action. In a blur the Man of Steel rammed into the being that had ruined his birthday, and made sure that Mongul would lay a hand upon Supergirl.

Crashing into the ground hard, Mongul bounced for bit until he finally found his footing. But before the former dictator could do anything else he got a fist in the face courtesy of Superman

The Last Son of Krypton kept up the attack. He punched Mongul in the face again and again, over and over, until the yellow skinned had his back up against a wall.

"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" Superman shouted.

Clark didn't wait for an answer. Rather he grabbed Mongul by the scruff of his suit and lifted him up before punching him once more. Then the world-famous Man of Steel slammed his foe into the wall so hard that the whole fortress shook.

Superman then pulled his foe off the wall and punched him once more before sending him flying across the floor with a powerful right hook.

Then the tide of the battle changed as Mongul managed to finally throw a punch of his own.

"I fashioned a prison that you couldn't leave without sacrificing your hearts' desire." the evil being gloated.

Mongul kicked the prone Superman, which drove the Last Son of Krypton to his knees.

"It must have been like tearing off your own arm." Mongul stated as he grabbed Superman by the head and lifted him up.

After landing a few blows the bad guy stopped to talk some more.

"You should have stayed in whatever happy fantasy that the Black Mercy granted you."

Stopping had been a mistake as Clark used his heat vision to escape Mongul's grip.

"Happy?" Superman said with a snarl as he started to use his enemy as a punching bag. "Do you have any idea what I've lost?"

The most powerful man on the planet continued to pound away, causing rubble to fall to the ground.

"What I've—" Superman then looked up at the statue of his parents and hesitated, thinking back to the world that the Black Mercy had shown him for a brief second.

But it was all Mongul needed.

Grabbing him by the head, Mongul brought Superman down into a powerful knee smash which he rammed right into his gut. Clark felt physical agony, but while pain was nothing when compared to the emotional torment he'd just been through. The Man of Tomorrow could not bring himself to stand.

"You know, for a moment there…I almost believed you were gonna kill me." Mongul said as he picked up a huge boulder "How stupid of you to hesitate like that. Not a mistake I'll make, I can assure you".

The alien lifted the big lump of rock over his head, and would have crushed Clark with it if not for Kara. She flew in so fast that the evil alien never even saw her coming, and her blow was so powerful than it caused Mongul to spin and then crash to the ground.

Supergirl was however, far from done.

WHACK

"That was hurting Wonder Woman!" she said as he started to beat her enemy with her fists of fury

WHACK

"That is ruining the cake I made!"

WHACK

"That was for throwing my boyfriend through a wall"

WHACK

"That was for destroying what should have been a happy day!"

There was another big whack as Supergirl's foot proved that Mongul was in fact a male of whatever species he was.

"And that was for threatening to rape me"

Kara had figured out what Mongul had meant by fun, and she was clearly not happy about that, and despite how utterly savage the beating was Clark said nothing. He'd of done worse if he'd heard the yellow skinned monster threaten his cousin with that.

"Excuse me, sweetie could you move out of the way".

Since he couldn't get up Mongul was looking right up at the hole in the ceiling, What he saw clued him in to what was about to happen, and had he any strength left he would have tried to run.

Standing by the hole was that primitive human in the fancy armour, and in his surprisingly strong hands was the Black Mercy. The telepathic plant almost seemed to be afraid of the man. Mongul had no idea why, but he guessed it wasn't a good thing.

"I know it's very rude to return a birthday gift, but this pet really isn't housebroken. I hope you kept the receipt"

With that the man in power armour hurled the Black Mercy at Mongul who found himself unable to move out of the way due to the injuries. The Black Mercy soon attached itself to Mongul, and it then once again began the process of siphoning off nutrients from its new host, while giving them a pleasant dream world to live in.

(Line Break)

"This sucks" Kara complained as she started to free me from the mess that my power armour had become "I just upgraded this thing, and you broke it again. Now I'm going to need to make some more improvements. You're such a caveman".

Actually I hadn't broken it at all. The bad guys kept doing the damage, but by female logic it was still my fault.

"Sorry, sweetie" I apologised.

To be fair she had put a lot of effort into this armour.

"And that line was awful" she then said "you're normally a lot funnier".

"Well I was trying to hold onto a telepathic plant monster" I pointed out.

"And I didn't get to eat that cake" she further complained.

"When we get back to Jump City I'll take you out for some pudding" I offered as I finally got out of the ruined power armour.

"Can we have ice cream too?" she asked in her cutest voice.

I would have thought she'd had enough given how much she'd gotten through when we were in Bludhaven, but I never got between a woman and comfort food. Even an immortal shouldn't risk his life that way.

"Sure"

That cheered her up.

Since we both wanted to leave we went over to were Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman were standing in order to make our goodbyes. Floating above his open hand the Man of Steel studied the piece of alien metal that came from his home world.

The three veteran heroes then turned to me and Clark asked me where I had gotten that little bit of tech from. So I explained, and then told him that I'd thought he'd should have it.

"Thank you" said Superman "it's nice to have something to remind me of Krypton".

It was still floating gently over the palm of his hand when Kara and I were ready to leave. I wondered if he would ever find out what it was for.


	7. Chapter 7

**tylermech66 **

I was employing some foreshadowing, but I won't say more as I don't want to build it up too much. That can led to disappointment, like my birthday.

**DarkAvenger001**

Well it does give Superman some character development. He's normally a rather bland character even when he's being emotional, but he's very human in that episode despite the fact that his dream world is an alien planet. I think that's why works.

Also it kinda bugged me that Supergirl wasn't in that one. You'd think she would be even if she isn't actually his cousin in that version. Maybe they couldn't get the woman who supplied her voice.

I'll pass on the recommendations. I'm appreciate the thought, but I'm still weeks behind on Supernatural and I've not even started on season five of Justice League and I need to watch that to plan this story.

Joe Lawyer Given the way his powers work it's actually a good thing he gets over matched because it pushes him into trying to get better. The really powerful characters are lazy about such things. That said there would be ways to greatly enhance his magic. He could feed souls to his patron god for example, he could try enchanting his own body (which could go very wrong) or he could try to manipulate Supergirl into technology humans aren't ready for. However I don't want to do that. He's an immortal who can evolve give him a thousand years and, well I won't ruin the surprise, anyway he can't control most of his super powers. His mental shields are maxed out, and all the improvements to his mind and body happen when he needs them to. Yes he can improve on skills and magic, which is what he is doing but power always comes at a price. Granted for him it's mostly time, but as you may of noticed he's a busy guy.

As for the fighting I guess its done for the dramatic effect more than anything else. DC Gothic likes to hit people on the head with sticks so he can't really judge.

I'll reply to the stuff about killing in the next chapter as I'm already at five thousand words for this chapter, and I'm putting the second chapter up just after this one.

Author Note

The following two chapters are focused on character development (assuming I'm using that phrase right) they are all about the crazy and sometimes creepy people who Gothic lives with, and how they all grow closer. This being Gothic's life it gets 'interesting' at parts and deals with themes that are adult in nature.

After the Halloween chapter there will be more action and drama as Cadmus makes its next move against Gothic and his girls.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Training And Planning**

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

Kara felt her arm shake under the force of the blow, there had been a lot of power behind the sword strike that she had just blocked. Normally she wouldn't even notice such things, but since the room they were training in was bathed in the red sun radiation she had no powers right now. It also meant that she was a lot more tired than she normal would be after such a hard work out.

"If your opponent is stronger than you, then you need to deflect the blow rather than try to block" her boyfriend gently scolded

"Yeah, but what are the chances running into someone stronger than me who uses a sword?" Kara pointed out "I mean sure your stronger than me now, but give me some sunlight and you'd be in for a world of pain, buddy".

Not that she would hurt her boyfriend, she was just trying to remind him that she was not human. He forgot that sometimes, she didn't blame him. She did look like a human girl after all, and she tried to act like one if only to blend in better.

"Yeah but I don't lose my powers because of radioactive space rock and special light bulbs " her lover said cheerfully as he artfully knocked the practice sword out of he hand.

Those 'special light bulbs' hadn't been easy to get. Installing them and then adding the yellow sun bulbs had taken longer than she'd expected. Still it was worth it as exercising without her powers should help her wear herself out. There wasn't much point training if you didn't push yourself.

"How is any of this supposed to make me a better fighter?" Kara demanded to know as she picked up the sword "I want to know how you beat people stronger than you are".

This desire was a new one, but given what had happened with Mongul the other day she had decided to try to prepare for such fights in the future.

"I trying to do just that" the man from another world replied.

Gothic then went on the attack and Kara used the training she gotten from the Amazons to deflect his blows. His sword was wooden like hers, so even it struck it would break her skin but she could get some bruises if a blow ever stuck her. Not that it looked like it ever would as the immortal kept striking her sword, the worst he'd done is wrap her on the knuckles.

By now she was sick and tired of being constantly on the defensive, so Kara went on the attacking, knowing that she couldn't truly injure her partner. Her attack was caught by his own blade easily and he pushed back hard enough to break her balance again. She didn't fall over as she was used to moving about with her power. Wearing the blue kryptonite ring had taught Kara to not be so clumsy when she wasn't invulnerable.

"It isn't a crowbar, so don't swing it at me".

Kara knew how to handle a sword, and she wasn't too bad with an axe either. The real problem was that this was just so frustrating. She was so use to being superior, that it was driving her nuts to be defeated in combat by a guy she considered a caveman. Granted he was her sexy cavemen, and this wasn't exactly public, but still it was humiliating. It was meant to be humbling she understood that as her intelligence wasn't being effected, yet she couldn't seem to bring her feelings under control.

"Okay I'm switching to yellow sun" she declared as she switched off the red lamps and turned on artificial sunlight "give me a few seconds and then you can show me how you beat someone stronger than you".

While they waited for the phony sunlight to recharge her, Gothic tried to explain why he was able to beat the likes of Bane, who was stronger and more experienced at fighting than the immortal.

"I beat Bane by exploiting his weaknesses" the immortal explained

"But how?" Supergirl questioned "and I don't mean 'tell me what his weaknesses are' I mean 'tell me how you figured them out'".

Kara nearly bit her tongue after she heard those words pour out of her mouth. She hadn't treating Gothic like he was some idiot who needed everything spelled out for him.

"I study my enemies" the rocker from another Earth answered "for example you're vulnerable to magic, so I'd use spells and magic weapons if I had to fight you. If I was fighting say... Mr Freeze I'd disarm him and then try to break his suit or I'd use my fire magic to overheat him".

That made sense. She'd seen Gothic exploit a weakness in a foe. That was why he had so many toys. Another good example was when he fought something supernatural he used his Nth metal sword.

"That invulnerability of yours isn't absolute. You found that out the hard way" the immortal added "any defence can be broken or bypassed".

"Not yours" Kara countered "you can't be killed".

"That's not a perfect defence" argued Gothic "I can be contained, and there are things that can kill even an immortal".

"But what about your mental shields" she pointed out "even Ace can't break them or get around them. Your mind can't be messed with".

Gothic frowned and then said.

"That's not true. Raven used a memory spell on me, and it worked".

Knowing her lover as well as she did she knew that he didn't want to talk about that, so Kara redirected the conversation.

"What about Galatea?" she asked "I can't use magic to fight her and kryptonite hurts me just as much as her"

Gothic mused on the problem for a while.

"I could make you a magic weapon, she could take it from you but it might be worth the risk. I can't make anything too deadly, you don't want to kill her so maybe something like... no you'd need to touch it too... might work if you wore your gloves. I could enchant some knuckle dusters I guess that would help a bit... most of what I could come up with would be as dangerous to you as to her".

Kara Zor'El agreed with that so she decided to try and look at the problem in a different way.

"Okay so it not enough to exploit her weaknesses. I also need to find ways to protect myself from things that can hurt me as well" Kara reasoned.

It sounded simple when said out loud, but it reality it was more complex as there was no suit of power armour she could make for herself. At least not with the tech she had to work with.

"Yeah I mean your cousin has a lead suit, he found a way to counter a weakness. It's not perfect, but it does show that he recognised a limitation and then came up with a way to overcome it".

The problem with was that Kara had no idea when her evil clone would turn up again, which made using kryptonite as a weapon rather problematic. Still at least it was something to consider.

"Which is exactly why I use gadgets and magic sometimes" Gothic added "rather than just hit things with sticks the time".

Kara often thought that really he did hit things with sticks a lot of the time. Maybe a little too much, but he was really good at it, and it was kinda hot sometimes.

"Using weapons wouldn't go with your Supergirl image, but there is one thing I can think that might help" her boyfriend said "not with your evil clone, but it could come in handy".

"Really" asked Kara, actually surprised that Gothic had come up with something so quickly.

"Magic can hurt you, but if you had bracelets like the ones Wonder Women used, only made of Nth metal then you might be able to block or at least weaken certain kinds of spells or even a magical weapon".

Kara felt embarrassed. She should have been able to think of something like that. Nth metal was rare, but there was some in the workshop because Slade Wilson had gotten his hands on some cuffs made of the stuff. She'd have to talk to Shayera Hol about reshaping the metal. Once she had that information the rest would be easy. Nth metal was tough stuff and could withstand the sheer amount of stress fighting super being like her would put a piece of body armour through.

"See that's what I don't get" Kara started to confess "I can beat you at chess. I can read an entire book before you finish page one. I can solve maths equations you don't have a hope of understanding nevermind solving, but you can come up with brilliant ideas without even trying. You got that one without even thinking that much".

Sure he had struggled a bit with ideas for beating Galatea, but she'd not thought of anything much either. Then he'd come up with a clever idea with next to no effort.

"I have a lot more limitations than you do" Gothic explained "that means I must have ideas like that. Necessity is the mother of invention after all".

"Yeah I guess we do think very differently" she said with a sigh.

It was times like this that Kara felt very much like an alien. Humans could be so like, and yet so different in many ways. Her cousin had grown up on this planet, but she hadn't and sometimes she felt very alone due to how different things were here from how they had been while she'd been growing up.

"But that can be a good thing" her boyfriend reasoned "you're a genius when it comes to science, but you have no understanding of magic were as I do. So I can help protect you from that, while you use your knowledge to help me like you did by making me the dragon armour".

On the other hand sometimes he knew exactly what she needed to hear. And now and again they did think very similar thoughts. Mostly that involved sex, and having other kinds of fun but that was enough for her. At least until she got him better trained. Plus he was male so it was to be expected that he wouldn't see a lot of things the same way way as her.

That made her smile when she realised that she did have a way to defeat Gothic even without her powers.

"You know I just realised how to beat you if we are a planet with a red sun" she told her lover "I'd just take my top off".

Her boyfriend smiled and then said.

"Yeah that work. Your boobs and butt are my real weakness".

Knowing that he was distracted by naughty thoughts Kara attacked Gothic intending to knock his sword out of his hand, she held back at a lot so that she wouldn't break his hand. However she need not of bothered as the blow never connected. Worse he struck her right on her ass, and it hurt.

"You used magic" Kara accused.

Gothic had muttered something back when she'd been switching the light to simulated yellow sun. She hadn't been paying enough attention but now she knew that he'd been casting a spell.

"Hell yeah. I told you I cheat, and you got cocky".

_'So much for being a goddess' _Kara thought before deciding that she needed to distract him some more.

"If you wanted to spank me so badly you should have just asked" she teased while giving him her best sexy look.

That always worked, and she just loved it when she could make him grin like an idiot with just a facial expression.

"See now you're exploiting a weakness" Gothic praised "Cheat, cheat and then cheat some more".

That was when she took off her top, she kept the bra on, but it was more than distracting enough to her knock the sword out of his hand.

(Line Break)

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

"So handsome, what do you have planned for today?" Blackfire asked she entered the kitchen.

I was sitting at the rooms small table, I'd covered most of it in case files. This was part of my training. Each file covered a crime that a member of the Justice League had solved in the past while a separate file held details on a criminal. My task was not only to match the file to the correct crook, using their histories to deduce who was mostly likely behind the fool deed, but I also had to try to figure out which hero had solved the crime. That part was trickier, but figuring it out was just worth some bonus points.

"Busy day ahead" I said to the alien princess Komand'r "I've got some case files to match up, then I'm taking a driving lesson in a Javelin, and tonight I'm monitor duty with Kara".

"No that's tomorrow night" my room-mate corrected "I swapped with Kara because I want to go to the Halloween party tomorrow, and she doesn't want to. So that means she's supervising you".

"So what is the women you fuck so much doing today?" Blackfire then asked.

Had I been my old self I might have growled upon hearing that, but I just couldn't get mad at people these days. Which was good in some ways as it meant Trigon's spirit had no influence over me, or at least that was I assumed that was how it worked. There were no voices in my head, which was a good sign at least.

"I think you meant to say 'the women you love so much'" I corrected.

"With you two what's the difference" replied the exiled princess, with a just a hint of jealously "and that doesn't answer the question".

At least Blackfire hadn't gotten into a fight with Kara because she wanted me as well. I like Fire well enough, she was a fun room-mate, but Kara wouldn't heartbroken if I tried to get another girlfriend. It had taken months for her and Raven to get to the point were they could share a bed with me, and that only been after they'd nearly killed each other.

"She's working on something up at the fortress" I said.

I had no idea what, but given what we'd talked about in the earlier hours of this very morning she was no doubt coming up with something to help give us both a better chance of winning some of our future battles.

"There you are." Blackfire remarked as Ace entered the room. "I was wondering when you'd get up".

While Komand'r tended wear in that sexy black number of hers Ace was dressing more modestly. In fact she was dressing a little like me, only she tended to wear a hoodie rather than a long coat. She tended to keep the hood up a lot, and it was starting to make me miss Raven again.

"Morning" the telepathic meta-human said to the two of us in a very bland tone of voice.

Yeah defiantly doing a Raven impression. She'd be drinking herbal tea and writing emo poems before the week was out.

"Morning sunshine" I said the telepathic teen.

How she reacted to that greeting I didn't know as I'd just sussed out who had robbed a collector of all his movie memorabilia. Had to be Control Freak, the big clue being that the idiot had confessed the crime on the internet while posting about the plot holes in a TV show.

"That one was done by the Royal Flush Gang" Ace informed me while pointing to a file that covered the hijacking of a helicopter.

"How do you know that?" I inquired.

"I was there" she answered.

Oh well that explained it. The copter was likely the one Harley Quinn had been flying around in during the time Joker had been in Las Vegas.

Also I concluded that Batman had solved the crime because Quinn was his enemy, and because the report was incredible well detailed as well as incredible dull. Bruce Wayne would not make a good fan fiction writer.

"You do seem to have a lot of bad girls interested in you, don't you handsome" Blackfire then commented "Ace, me, Raven is a bit evil too".

Those were just the ones she knew about.

"I think Kara is the exception to the rule" I muttered.

Then I started thinking about all the other ways Kara was different from any woman I'd ever met.

"He's in love" Blackfire said in a goofy voice "He's in love!"

Apparently I'd been thinking about it so much that I'd started to stare into space because I hadn't noticed time was still passing until Fire brought me back to reality by being silly.

Ace didn't seem to be amused as she slammed a cupboard shut with the power of her mind. Then after getting herself a bowl of cereal, thankfully without using telekinesis, Ace then cleared some space at the table and then sat down opposite me. She gave me the not creepy look only I seemed to be worthy of getting most of the time, and then started examining one of my notebooks.

I'd filled many pages with plans, plot, ideas and sometimes drawings of things I could possible make. Having my own version of the Batplane would be cool, but it was very impractical what with not having anywhere to hide it or anyway to build one. Some of the stuff was more doable. But I'd either have to get some help or 'cheat' using magic.

Then for some reason Ace decided to spit an entire mouthful of corn flakes across the table. Blackfire must have seen it coming as she'd moved away from the table at the last second.

"Ace!" I called out in astonishment rather than anger.

"Sorry, but there's something wrong with this milk, it's all bitter" she said in an apologetic tone of voice.

Oh crap. She used the wrong milk. I should have seen that coming.

"Did you get it from the plastic bottle that's labelled 'Gothic Only'?" I questioned.

"Yeah" the telepathic meta-human replied timidly "but I didn't think you'd care".

"I'm not mad, it's just the milk thing is something private" I told the teen as I cleaned up the mess.

Ace accepted that but the other girl in the room did not. I failed to spot Blackfire going for the milk bottle in the fridge until it was too late.

"She's right it tastes horrible" the alien princess in exile agreed "it's like someone left a diet soda out for too long, and it's really bitter".

So neither Ace or Blackfire considered Kara to be a suitable mother for their offspring. Not that this was surprising given that they were both women, but for some reason it became funny.

"Where did you buy this stuff?" inquired Komand'r before suggesting "you should take it back and complain".

Apparently she'd forgotten that spoiled milk is sour and not bitter.

"Oh I could never do that" I told her "I'm not brave enough".

I was pretty sure that my girlfriend's sweater puppies had super powers of their own. One of which had to be that I kept wanting to stare at them whenever she got topless or naked. There was no way I was going to risk her keeping them covered up all the time because she felt offended. Plus their other power was an addictive substance, so over all it would be a really stupid idea to complain.

"Brave?" questioned Blackfire "who can scare you?"

A few people actually, but mostly they were sort of my allies so they didn't worry me... much.

"I know we don't scare him" Ace informed "but that's it".

"Wait so you know how he does feel about me" Blackfire reasoned "does he think I'm sexy".

To make it more awkward my royal room-mate decided to start rubbing my shoulders.

"Err" was all I said on the matter.

"A little" Ace answered "but he mostly feels that your fun to be around".

Which was the truth. She was a fun girl.

"But he doesn't love me" said the princess.

"No" confirmed the empathic girl "but he really loves Kara. If I could read his minds I bet I'd be seeing her breasts everywhere".

To be fair they had been on mind a lot this morning.

"Super-boobs" Ace muttered darkly.

Yep that was a great Raven impression. She just needed to dye her hair purple, and it would as if my other girlfriend had never left.

"They are really big" agreed Blackfire "I can understand why they would be intimating".

Not that she was so well endowed, but Fire was at least fully grown, and she was a bit sexy. Even her orange skin gave her an exotic quality rather than simply make her look strange.

"Does it bother you that much?" I asked Ace "I mean you're a cutie".

Well she was when she wasn't giving people the creepy eye treatment. Which rarely happened around me, as she could sense my feelings without even having to make eye contact.

"You think I'm your little sister"

She didn't need to read any minds to know that.

"Tell you what get back to me in about four or five years and I'll add you to the harem" I joked.

"You better" was the reply.

I just knew what she was going to hold me to that. Kara would not be happy. Of course I might still be married to Tali al Ghul by then so she wouldn't be happy either. Oh well I'd just have to cross that burning bridge when I got to it.

"I use to have a harem" said Blackfire with a slight sigh "they were so good at the foot rubbing".

That caught me off guard, but she had been queen of a whole world so it kinda made sense.

"I bet they were all strapping young men with six-packs and tight jeans " I said with a smirk.

That would be so like her. I'd seen the posters she had up in her room. If her taste in pop stars and other celebrities was anything like her tastes for the males of her own species it would all make sense. Assuming they had jeans on her world. Then again she'd been to Earth before becoming Grand Ruler so she would have known where to get some.

"No they all wore a kind of synthetic leather, but I made the women wear silk" she told me in a whisper"it's easier to take off".

I had not known that she was bisexual. That was interesting. Also fun to think about, but for too long as I didn't want Ace to sense anything.

"They use to wash and then rub my feet, I so enjoyed that" Komand'r added.

Given that she had gone back to making my shoulders feel so good I couldn't comment. Although I did wonder if massages were sexual things on Tamaran. They didn't considering to be intimate, but given I could be using that Blackfire's chest as pillows at this point it could be.

"You can pay people to do that you know" I told the alien princess "give you a foot rub I mean".

"Pay people to rub my feet!" Blackfire said in a way that sounded as if the whole idea was positively scandalous "that's legal on this planet!".

So it seemed that at least foot rubbing was sexual to her world. Although it could be here if you had that kind of fetish, so again I wouldn't judge.

"Well it is in some parts" I informed "they have professionals and places for it's not considered sexual here".

"Really" replied Komand'r as she pushed her fun bags into the back of my head "so you could do it. I don't have any money, but I'm sure I could do something for you in return".

By now alarm bells were going off in my head, and as much as I knew I should stop this. I was also enjoying all the attention. Which made me a really bad person. Being empathic Ace knew this and had decided to make it worse. Clearly she did not want to by my little sister figure, at least not all the time.

"I'd love a back rub" she said while trying to look seductive.

Now I really needed a way out. Ace knew how to use the little sister thing to her advantage. It was only a matter of time before she started telling about how harsh her life had been, then I'd want to spoil her like rotten.

"I'm rich" I reminded, thinking that money could solve this problem "I can send you to a really fancy spa"

Hurray! Cheque book to the rescue!

"But you said it wasn't about sex" reminded Blackfire "if that's true then you should be able to run your hands all over my naked body".

Sometimes it paid to be smart, and this was one of those times. I could think my way out of this grave I was partly digging for myself.

"I'm not a professional" I pointed out "I wouldn't know what I was doing".

A weak defence, but it might work.

"Yeah, but you learn things real fast" Ace said unhelpfully "you could get a book and then practice on us. You're always trying to gain new skills, so why not this one. I bet Super-boobs would be really happy if you could give her a really good all over body rub...with oils... and fluffy towels".

Wait how did she know that Kara loved fluffy towels? Had they been in her wardrobe?

"Did you two plan this?" I asked "It sounds like you did".

They didn't normally gang up on me likes this, and they did seem to be working together really well.

"No I'm feeding her lines" confessed Blackfire "she can read my mind".

Which meant they could talk to each other without actually speaking since Ace could send thoughts to people as well. It also meant that I was going to have to put my foot down unless my last idea worked.

"I don't think Kara would like me touching naked girls who aren't her".

Neither of them were insane enough to piss off Supergirl.

"She might, so I'll ask her" decided Komand'r "if she says yes then will you do it?".

"Please" added Ace as she made herself look all harmless and adorable "I've never had a massage, no has ever been nice enough to me do something like that. No one's ever cared about me like you do".

Damn it! She'd unleashed her most potent weapon against me the 'I'm an abused little girl who needs to be shown affection' attack. It couldn't fail, not when combined with the harmless and adorable look.

Then I smiled as I realised that Kara would never say yes. So it was perfectly safe to go along with their evil plan. They wouldn't blame me, and I'd find a far more harmless way to spoil them both.

"Sure if she says yes I'll do it. In fact I'll even provide soft music, scented candles, champagne and chocolates. The whole nine yards".

Nothing could go wrong with this plan.


	8. Chapter 8

****Reviews****

****The unknown23 ****

I have none planned but if you pitch an idea at me I might be able to use it.

****Joe Lawyer ****

Well I did say he wasn't that bad, but he did get close. He let a team-mate die when he was Dark Angel. If Gothic teamed up with a super villain in this story he wouldn't do that, and would never kill for money in this story either. But he does go that far later, and that sort of thing is a slippery slope. That's why Raven so mad about Dark Angel fighting Batman while on the side of the villains. Granted DA was protecting his team mates, but they were all killers not fellow heroes, and Batman is for all his faults a good guy and the world would have been a lot worse off without had Dark Angel killed him. Ace actually informed him of that.

The heroes in the league don't have the backing of legitimate government a soldier does. In the DC Verse the police really don't seem to like people who aren't government employees kill the bad guys. Look what happened when that Superman clone killed Toyman.

Granted the clone was crazy, but he was actually trying to do the right thing he only killed the crook when he escaped custody and murdered that little girl. Okay so the clone pretty much executed the guy, which is not the same thing as killing someone in a fight but given the way people reacted you can see how it can make the hero into the villain. Also if the good guys actually solved all those problems they'd be out of job and then there would no more adventures for us to read or watch. That's the real reason.

Gothic does get approval from the government when he works for Amanda Waller. That's why no one in the League tries to shut him down, but in the end it wasn't what he wanted from his life. In Dark Knight Returns fricking Superman had become a tool of the president because he wanted to do things legitimately. In the DC verse that's how it works. The authorities would control all the meta-humans if they could, and then wouldn't be heroes any more.

Maybe you don't agree and even I don't think it would really be that simple if it happened here, but that's how it is in the DC verses and that is where this story is set.

I have to stay true to some of the themes of the story. I like changing things, and it can be fun but if I made DC Gothic to powerful or put him outside the 'rules' as it were then this story would soon end as he'd win too much and would soon have nothing left to do.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Bonding**

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

"I can't tell if I've become the luckiest bastard who ever lived or not" I said while thinking out loud. "I have three sexy women in my bedroom, but on the other I'm not allowed to enjoy it too much".

It was a confusing situation. Kara, Komand'r and Ace were pretty much naked, aside from a small towel that covered their rear bumpers, and I was going to get to massage their bodies. However Ace didn't turn me on. Blackfire did a bit, but that would just make it worse in some ways.

Then there was Kara to consider I found it a struggle not to try to ravish her right now. She wouldn't want to have sex in front of other people, but she might be very tempted to kick them out of the room. Which made a tempting escape plan, but that would really upset the other two.

"Just relax sweetie" my girlfriend said rested her head on a pillow "we'd be offended if you didn't find this really sexy, it's meant to be fun and if you get me really relaxed. Then I'm going to let you do to me what you did to Raven just before she left".

Now there was an intensive if ever I heard one, also it was a little shocking to find out that she knew about that. It was supposed to have been a very private thing. Not that it stopped me from getting aroused by the prospect, which made very glad the girls had only wanted me to take my t-shirt off.

"Let him do what?" Ace asked she stared at the lights given off by one of the scented candles.

That question made Blackfire giggle, as she had clearly figured out what it was I was being offered. She didn't have to explain it as Komand'r didn't have mental defences, at least not ones that mattered to Ace, so the telepathic meta-human simply read her friend's thoughts.

"Won't that hurt?" was the telepaths next question.

"I guess so" Kara answered "I've not done it before it's a little scary, which is why I need to be really relaxed first".

"Or drunk" Blackfire added "we have really good drinks on Tamaran, you can get really wasted if you've got enough worms".

I couldn't see Ace's face, but given that she just finished a very small glass of champagne it wasn't hard to guess that she'd be a little freaked out upon hearing that".

"They don't put worms in drinks here" Blackfire assured.

"Actually they do in Tequila" I informed the telepath "but not in champagne I promise".

"Actually you're wrong they only do that with mezcal and really the "worm" is the larva of a moth" Kara corrected, before changing the subject "Are you going to start with Ace? Cause it's already eight thirty and she has a bed time".

"No I don't" protested Ace "not unless he says I have to".

Given that there was only one 'he' in the room. It was clear she meant me. Also I had to wonder why it was my decision.

"Don't play Mummy verses Daddy" chided Blackfire "it never works as well you think".

Deciding that I didn't want to get involved in that debate I sat down on the end of the bed and started rubbing Ace's feet which made her giggle, and that stopped her from arguing. Sadly I only had one pair of hands, and this clued me into why my most humanoids only one have sexual partner at a time. This is because you can't massage two women, and do it right with only a single pair of hands.

"I am really the Mum?" Kara asked.

If she was asking me I didn't know as I was facing the wrong way.

"I think so" said Blackfire "I mean Ace is the baby. I'm her cool big sister, or maybe a really young aunt, and your so the Mum. You take care of everyone, you cook, you clean, you even wash our clothes. You even fu... share a bed with the Dad".

That made me frown because I'd not realised that Kara did that so much. I couldn't recall when I'd stopped washing my own clothes. When I did figure it out I realised that she'd started before we'd become an item. She did it all so well that I'd never noticed. Although it made sense as Raven had always been useless at the domestic stuff. Her meatloaf had turned out to be a crude explosive in the end, as for cleaning well she used magic for that. In fact if I could remember me cleaning Raven's clothes a few times, and she'd never noticed that as far as I was aware, but we both wore dark colours so I'd always washed both loads of laundry together.

"Yeah but I have super speed" Kara pointed out "it doesn't take me long to do stuff. I mean the cooking you can't rush, but I enjoy taking care of Goth... oh I am so the Mum!".

Now that she'd admitted it I had to agree, but I was going to keep my mouth shut and ignore it. Frankly I'd enough of that whole my lover is a lot a parent stuff from Raven thank you very much. I was just going to enjoy my time with my more devoted girlfriend as much as I could before things fell apart. Which given I was immortal was the only way I could handle relationships. Even if Kara didn't age like a human, she could die, and while I might not have to deal with that issue until the 31st century I'd still have to cope with her death. Unless she was immortal too, which would have its own issues.

"Oh that's so good" Ace said.

At some point I'd started on her legs and she was loving it. I'd even applied the oil. Which made me glad I'd covered the bed sheets in towels, because she'd chosen something a little sticky to get covered in. I wouldn't even try to guess what it was called, but whatever it was it smelled nice and fruity.

"How good?" asked Blackfire.

"Very" was the answer.

"The first time is always special" commented Kara.

Which reminded me that I wasn't her first, which was a little disappointing but on the upside if things when well I'd get to pop one cherry of hers.

"My life is very odd" I said out of the blue as I repositioned myself to better rub Ace's other leg.

Two faces turned to give me questioning looks, the youngest of the three had her face buried in a pillow so I doubted that she'd even heard me say anything.

"I was just having deep thoughts" I explained "about my life".

"And they say men can't multi-task" Kara said with a smile.

Sometimes I did find myself thinking about things while also doing something that had nothing to do with my thoughts.

"I'm offend that he can think at all" stated Komand'r "I'm practically naked here!"

"He can't see your ass or breasts" Kara explained "he doesn't care about the other parts... well he cares about one other part".

Oddly it didn't sound much like she minded that I never paid her other parts much notice. Then again I was about to give them a lot of TLC.

"Don't show him or he'll start acting like a zombie" advised my girlfriend "then you'll have to wait even longer for your turn".

One of the very few things that was a little negative about having Kara as my girlfriend, was that she tended to put me down whenever other women looked as if they might take attention away from her. She did in the form of jokes, but I had to admit there were times that it had annoyed me. But even she wasn't perfect, she was however very close.

I then spent a few moments trying to kneel over Ace without putting any weight on her I was over twenty stone in weight, although I didn't look it.

Normally that wasn't a problem, but the telepathic teen was a tiny girl, so I had to be very careful if I wanted to do a decent job on her back.

"You missed her butt" pointed out Blackfire between sips of champagne.

I had been hoping that wouldn't be mentioned.

"There's a reason she's wearing a towel" I reminded "that's a little too much she's only fifteen".

I'd like to avoid the creepy pedo thing thank you very much.

"Maybe sixteen" Ace said after a little groan of pleasure "I don't know when my birthday is".

She at least didn't seem to care that I'd missed a spot. In fact she sounded extremely relaxed and happy.

"Make it today" advised Komand'r "it's Halloween tomorrow so you get two days of candy in a row, and a really good time with Gothic by the sounds of it. You can have this be something he does every year".

"Does that mean I can have more campaign?" the meta-human inquired "if it's my birthday I should".

"Yes you can" I said before Kara said no "just a little then add a lot of orange juice. It helps prevent a hangover".

The amount she'd already had been pitiful to be fair, and she had eaten enough chocolate to stop her from getting light-headed.

"Nice diversion" was all Kara actually said on the subject.

"All's fair in love and war, and you need good tactics in both" I replied.

Which would explain how my adaptive biology (which was supposed to make me a good survivor) did help me with the tricky parts of living with three women who seemed to be in love with me. Although it was a different kind of love for Kara, the other two had strong crushes, but for them it was no less real.

"What did you divert me from" Ace asked a little sleepily.

Clearly she had no tolerance for drink.

"He skipped your butt" Komand'r prompted.

Ace then started to get depressed.

"I've never even kissed a boy".

"If you wanna kiss a girl, I'll kiss you" offered Blackfire "but no tongue".

That sounded a bit strange but Komand'r's people didn't consider kissing to be intimate thing.

"I only want to kiss one person" she replied "and he won't".

"He's rubbing your body" said Kara, clearly getting fed up of the rising emo levels in the room "enjoy it sweetie"

"Oh for the love of..." I heard myself say before I put a firm hold on my emotions "I'll kiss you, if you promise to just try and relax. If this going to be your birthday then you have to learn to enjoy yourself".

Ace brighten up a lot after I planted a big kiss on her lips. It didn't last very long as I wasn't about to snog a sixteen (or possibly fifteen) year old, but I was very good at kissing, so it had the desired effect without being sexual.

After than I got to work on her shoulders. If she'd been able to Ace would have purred at that point.

"You're a nice guy" Kara commented

Not something you'd expect to hear from your girlfriend after you'd kisses another girl right in front of her.

"Marry me and give me babies" she then rather randomly added.

Or perhaps not that randomly. If she was that broody then it explained a lot actually. Still that was a little OOC for her to say stuff like that.

"Are you drunk?" I asked my other half.

Or was it 'other third' if you had two girlfriends?

"Little bit" she admitted.

Blackfire held up the empty bottle and then said.

"I've had half a glass. Ace had like two tiny glasses. She drank the rest and this is really strong stuff for your first drink".

Yeah perhaps it hadn't been the best choice. I'd really just wanted to spoil my girls, not get them sloshed.

"I never... drank any before" slurred Kara.

Ah that explained it. Blue kryptonite must reduce her immunity to poison. Alcohol was a mild poison, and she'd never had any so he no resistance that wasn't due to her powers. Plus even I'd be a bit tipsy after most of a bottle of champagne.

"She forgot the orange juice" a now much happier Ace added.

Indeed she had, and that was another good reason for drinking buck fizz. Champagne was expensive as well.

"Does this mean we can get naked?" asked the princess on the bed "I don't think she'll remember any of this".

"Yay!" Ace cheered before I went back to massaging her neck.

It was apparently very pleasant. The book I'd spent an hour going over once I'd gotten back from the Watchtower had been a very good one. In fact it was good that my smallest room mate forgot how to talk as well.

"Yeah two drunk girls and one of them is possibly sixteen. I really should not be allowed to have children" I said to myself.

"Shh!, don't tell Clark" was another somewhat random comment from the love of my life.

We all ignored. It wasn't as if I was ever going to tell Superman I got his teenage cousin drunk. I could see those red glowing eyes even now.

"You need to stop worrying so much" advised Blackfire "we all trust you, and we know you would take advantage. You'd be a good Dad because you really do care about people, and we all love you".

I'd never of thought that Fire would say something like that. She really did have a softer side.

"This went from being sexy and a little scary too..."

Well I wasn't sure what to call this. If it was a party then it was a very good one as it had resulted in me getting naked girls (more or less) on my bed and somebody had passed out without vomiting first. Which was always a plus in my books, as it meant I didn't have to clean any vomit up.

"It's still sexy" debated Blackfire "you get to touch my butt. Kara didn't say you couldn't. You're the one who decided that".

She advised against it, but not forbidden it and anyway I was suppose to be in charge it was my house.

"What about my... front?" inquired Ace "I want my... everything rubbed".

That wasn't going to happen. I was drawing a line in the sand. Feeling up a drunk teenage girl was sicko territory.

"You need to go to bed" I told her "you're a little drunk".

Thankfully she was not that drunk. She was just tipsy enough to be silly without getting so besotted that I needed to worried about. I was a bit of an expert at this having gotten sloshed rather a lot in my college days.

"Is it my bed time?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"Yes" I replied "Sleepy time for Ace".

"Carry me" she requested "I don't think I can walk".

I got up to do just that, then she rolled over which showed me everything. But rather than try not to look I just picked her up, took her to her room and tucked her into bed.

Then she muttered that she loved me so I gave a kiss on the cheek, and then tucked her in.

Yeah I was so the Dad and that made her crush very awkward sometimes, but I really did adore the little telepathic teen, so I decided to stop stressing about the whole thing. I wasn't the kind of person to take advantage of someone like her so there was no need to worry about this so much.

Then a few moments, or maybe a bit longer, watching her sleep. She looked so different now that she had a family of sorts, and it broke my heart to know that she had only a few years to live. Her own mind was going to kill her, and there wasn't anything I could do about other than make help make her remaining life worth living.

But that was what an immortal had to deal with. I would outlive them all if nothing killed me. I wouldn't age or get a tumour in my brain. I'd go on. I wasn't sure which of us was worse off.

When I got back into my room, Blackfire had taken off her towel and moved a bit so she had more space. Thankfully she was still lying on her back so I didn't end up getting another eye full and what I did see was rather nice. However I knew that this was a road to badness so I took Kara's ring off so her powers would be restored. Hopefully she would recover fast. If she didn't I was really, really going to need my mandatory therapy. There was only so much temptation I could resist and Blackfire knew my greatest weaknesses.

Thankfully she didn't she did have hypno breasts.. I assumed.

"One day she is going to get her wish" Komand'r warned "she will wear you down".

I actually agreed with that. It was easy to see her as a kid now, but give her a few years to physically and emotionally grow and she'd be able to completely wrap me around her finger. Assuming she lived that long.

"I know" I admitted "I just wish she'd wait a while. I want her to have a chance to just be a kid, but I'm gonna stop worrying so much about it".

That was the plan I was going to put my sad thoughts aside and focus on the task at hand. Ace's flashing aside this hadn't been that bad so far. Embarrassing yes, and a little silly but I could handle that. Would help if I could smoke but that would totally ruin the atmosphere.

"That's good, she needs you to see that she isn't a just little kid " replied Blackfire as I started on her feet "oh and that's even better"

Yeah she totally had sensitive feet. This was so a sex thing for her.

"And you wonder why so many girls like you" said a now awake Kara "you totally have some boyfriend sorcery. Did you like cast a spell on yourself or something".

Boyfriend sorcery. That was a good name for it. Once I had thought I did have actual magic effecting the women I met. But as it turned out it was something I was doing to myself. Well that and I seemed to met very strange women.

"That sort of thing was always more Raven's thing" I told the misses "my magic doesn't work that way".

Since I had no healing spells there was no reason for to ever use magic on an ally. There had been that one time, but those enchantments had been meant to harmlessly disable people I didn't want to maim or kill, not to mess with their personalities.

At least no spell I'd created with Old One magic did anything like that. Although enhancing myself with spells might be worth looking into. Could be dangerous, but I was immortal which reduced the risks, and I knew how to lift such enchantments.

"Can anyone do magic?" the naked princess asked as I switched to her other foot "I mean spells, not the magic your hands are doing".

"He's a magic cavemen" Kara said with a giggle "a witch-doctor"

"Warlock" I rectified "my magic comes from spirits. I call upon a god and what's left of a very powerful demon lord, for my power".

And now and again I'd tapped into Raven's soul self, which was the source of her power and also spiritual. But that was rather private, and it didn't work any more as it required us to be emotional and physically connected.

"My Pyrokinesis comes from what remains of Trigon" I further explained "and I might get more if I tapped into my rage, but that could led to him influencing me"

My mental shields might be helping with that, but they weren't completely magic proof as Raven had proved. Plus Trigon had been extremely powerful, if his spirit wasn't only a pitiful remnant he would of taken me over shields or not.

"So you make fire" mused Kara "and you can make it do what you want".

I could hold the flames I made in the palm of my hands which meant I might also be immune to fire and when I got mad, which was hard to do these days, I could hurl it about as well.

"Blow the candles out" I requested of my sexy partner.

A very gentle super breathe did just that. Then with a showy wave of my hand I made the candles light up again.

"Cool" remarked Komand'r "you should do that trick at parties".

Kara ignored that remark as she was thinking about something.

"But can you take it away?" my other half (or third if that made sense) "If you control fire then you could make it go away?".

I thought about that for a moment as I finished with Blackfire's feet.

"I don't know" I admitted.

"Okay try it with one of the candles" Kara instructed.

I focused on a single candle and looked at flame. Rage made fire so I used calmness to remove the flame. Then I did the rest, and lit them up for the third time this evening.

"Very cool" said an impressed Komand'r

It wasn't that impressive actually. My sexy girlfriend could have done the same thing using heat vision after using her cold breathe. I pointed this out but Kara did not agree.

"When I put out a house that's on fire, there's always a chance I could knock it down, like in that three little pigs story, but if you could take away the fire then that would be less risky. It could save a lot of lives".

That was a very good idea. Remove the fire rather try to put it out.

"And it makes the flaming skull on my biker jacket more appropriate" I added.

"Only if you were a villain" Kara disagreed as she started to open the second box of chocolates that I'd brought "and if you go evil you won't get to see me naked again".

The threat was enough to remove that temptation. At least for now.

"What else can you do" Blackfire then asked "aside from making my skin go all tingly with your magic hands".

"My Old One spells are a kind of chaos magic" I then said as I started rubbing up and down Blackfire's legs "in theory chaos magic has limits, if I can word a spell right I could even raise the dead or summon things more dangerous than those tentacle monsters".

Kara shuddered and then said.

"Please don't bring any of those tentacle monsters near me. I'm still traumatised from the last time".

I vaguely recalled her telling me about the time she'd nearly gotten completely tied up by tentacles that had come of some people's mouths. So unleashing a tentacle creature upon Mother May Eye, must have triggered some really bad memories.

Oddly Raven had found the whole thing a big turn on, although we had still both been drugged at the time, but then again she was a big fan of horror movies they got her juiced up. So that would have been like actually being in the film.

As for me I was just glad to the outfit she'd been wearing off her body. Raven in bright, happy colours was an abomination worse than anything I could ever summon.

"Well I couldn't think of anything else at the time" I told her "besides you know how I get when people hurt my friends".

"I do" replied Kara "it's one of the things I like most about you. Sometimes you can be really vicious, but it because you care so much".

That was reassuring to hear.

"I like his hands the most" Blackfire said with a sigh of pleasure.

Yeah I'd picked up on that.

"They are great" agreed my girlfriend "nice and strong".

Which the princess had to agree with because I was now rubbing the upper parts of her legs, which involved me looking at her butt quite a lot.

"She does have a cute ass" Kara said "but mine is sooo much sexier".

"Tis true" I admitted while looking at her even more sexy backside.

Fire then wiggled her bottom which got my attention.

"Don't you think mine is sexy, Gothic?" she said in a playful voice.

"No mine is better" argued my lover "isn't that right sweetie?"

"You're both very attractive women in your own special way, and I'm lucky to have you in my life".

That seemed safe enough even if I hadn't actually answered their questions.

"Awww, you're so sweet" said Blackfire

"I have you well-trained" remarked Kara between mouthfuls of candy.

She did it was true. But the rewards made it so worth while.

"I'm impressed by how well you've gotten him under your control" Blackfire praised "did it take you long?".

"Not really" Kara answered "I staked a claim to him ages ago. We went on a nice date, he took me to dinner and when I found who he was I decided that I just had to have him. Then we went out again, and I got him hooked on my breasts right from the start. I would of joined the Titans before he started dating Raven, but getting the new Watchtower needed a lot of work. Given with Green Lantern moving the pieces into orbit it still took weeks to get up it all up and running".

Well that at least partly explained how the new one had gotten built so quickly. And it also meant that I actually started seeing Kara first. No wonder Raven through her through a roof, she was an empath so she would of known why Kara had wanted to join the group.

That was when I realised I'd stopped what I was doing so I got back to work.

"All over body massage" reminded the naked princess as I moved to get to her back "that's what I want".

Kara only giggled, again. So I moved on to Blackfire's butt. Which was nice and firm, but I got my hands moving upwards before I got too distracted. I really did have a thing for spankable backsides.

"We so have to do this again" Fire recommended, once I got to her shoulders.

"Only if you behave" I joked.

"Oh I'll do anything you say" teased the naked princess "_anything_"

I could well believe that.

"He's mine" reminded Kara

"Can I borrow him?" pleaded the girl whose arms I was rubbing oil into "please".

"I'm a person not a pet" I protested.

I might be primitive compared to my partner, but she did acknowledge the fact that I was a sentient being.

"You'll have to fed him" the alien babe who wasn't orange said "and not let maul anybody".

Apparently I'd been wrong about then. Although that had most likely been a joke, or at least that was what I was hoping it was. In any case I considered it best to end this little chat here and now.

"Okay your done" I told Blackfire as I smacked her rear bumper.

"What about my front?" she inquired "I thought I was getting the whole body treatment".

"The book didn't cover those parts" I replied "now go to bed".

Which was true, it didn't mention anything I hadn't already made very relaxed.

"Oh, are you sending me to my room?" asked Blackfire in her most innocent voice "have I been a bad girl. Is that why Daddy smacked my ass?".

At times like this I'd figured that immortality wasn't my only curse. Someone had also cursed me to have an interesting life. Which explained he immortality curse, because the other one would of killed me a long time ago without it.

"No it's just your bedtime" I said in a grown up tone of voice "now off to bed with you young lady".

She didn't even attempt to cover herself, instead she told me that she loved me and then kissed me on the check.

"Now I have you all to myself" my girlfriend said happily as she put her radioactive space rock ring back on.

"This...feels...good..." Kara sighed out

By now I had started her a massage while she lied on the centre of the bed. After having three girls on it the bed seemed much larger than before. I'd not noticed how big it was really. If I ever got really board I could so build a pillow fort on it.

"I'm glad to hear that" I replied.

Truthfully I was. I really wanted to pound that ass. It was now my number one goal in life. I would not rest until the deed was done.

"Do you start on planning a massage parlour for super heroines?" Kara "or is this a free service for the girls who totally adore you?".

Now that had possibilities. Potential dangerous ones as I didn't think it would be a good idea. Most heroic women had gorgeous asses after all.

"The second one" I answered

"Oh good" a now very relaxed Kara said "because I'd like to book you for some time next week".

"I'll check the appointment book" I kidded.

Vanilla oil smelt really nice and for some reason the scent seemed to really suit my super hot girlfriend. I rubbed it everywhere, giving the task my total attention. She loved every second on it, and didn't say a word as I relaxed her entire body. Well nearly of all it, there were a couple of big things that also needed my attention.

Whenever I sucked on her nipples I could tell that she would try to maintain her composure, but it never lasted. She always ended up forgetting to speak English, and it also tended to result in my hair getting really messed up as for some reason she loved to run her hands through it whenever I got my favourite liquid refreshment.

I looked to see that Kara's eyes had half-rolled up into her head. This might not be sexual to her, at least not completely, but it was intense as she always seemed very grateful as well.

I imagined that had to do with me accepting this bit of alien weirdness, while also making us closer as a couple. So for her it was all good.

As for me. Well it meant I got Supergirl's breasts at my beck and call. There's really nothing more awesome than that. I had to be the luckiest bastard this world had ever known, and that was without counting all the things she did to support me. More than mad up for having to play by the idiotic rules of the Justice Jerks.

I decided then to express my gratitude with a little pussy licking. I kissed my way down her stomach, which she loved, and then did something I couldn't recall ever doing for her. Mostly that was because when she got this aroused she be pleading with me to just do her and to do it rough, but tonight was a little different.

Her cunt was just as great as the rest of her, she was totally shaven. Assuming she actually had body hair I'd never found any and to be honest I didn't want to look the gift horse in the mouth.

On the subject of mouths my face was soon buried itself in her slit. Once the surprise wore off she grabbed my head with both hands and urged to get my tongue deeper into her wet and warm whole.

Normally she asked nicely when she wanted to do something in bed, even if was something no sane straight man could say no too, and that might have been what was she was saying, but I had no idea what she going on about right now and even I had her thighs would have made it impossible for me to hear her clearly. She was now squeezing her thighs so hard it actually hurt for a second or two. If she'd been anywhere at full power my head would have been crushed.

The last thing I figured out was that I was getting really good at thinking about things while also doing something that should be holding my attention. I really had to stop thinking so much and try to enjoy myself more. So that was exactly what I did.

I ended up driving Kara into such a state that she had make me stop, she squirmed around so much that somehow she ended up half off the bed, and she couldn't fly with the ring on her finger, thus she was subject to gravity. Hitting the floor would really have ruined the mood.

"Where did you learn to that?" she asked once she'd remembered that I couldn't understand her native speech.

"College" was the answer I gave.

Which was the truth I'd been attending college at the time. Actually if I remembered right I should have been in class rather than getting oral sex tips from a horny student. Then again it had been a practical lesson and very educational.

"Are you sure there's no magic involved?" Kara as she got onto her hands and knees "cause that was really something special. You really need a big reward, so don't hold back. I want you enjoy yourself. Do my ass as hard as you want. But I want one more thing, just one tiny favour and I'll be the most grateful girlfriend ever".

What else could I do.

"Please run me a bath" she requested "I'd do it myself, but I really don't want to move and your so good at spoiling me".

Well that was no big deal. I even had bubble bath she liked. Because she'd brought it. Which was odd because it was my bathroom, but I also had the only tub so it wasn't that strange that she might want to use her girlfriend bathroom hogging privileges.

When I got back from doing that I'd found that Kara hadn't moved at all. She was still on all fours and had her ass high in the air.

I had no idea what she was going to about the lack of lubricant. Raven could of used magic for this sort of thing, but with Kara that wasn't an option and she hadn't planned this. Still she was offering and had sobered up enough to know what she wanted so I quickly slipped off my jeans and went for it.

"Fuck my ass, honey, oh it's wonderful!" she moaned. "and it's soo naughty!"

Yeah I'd totally corrupted Supergirl. There was going to be a special hell for me, assuming I could have an afterlife.

Before I knew it my cock was stretching her and then rather easily I was sliding inside deep inside. All I cared about know was that it was

an exquisite pleasure as my cock slid deep into Kara's asshole. I'd thought her pussy was the best ever but this took the top slot of my favourite things in the universe.

I heard myself groan, while feeling my cock sink deep into her hot ass. It was the most incredibly nasty and sexy thing I had ever done. Mostly because Kara wasn't part demon and therefore did really have much of a dark side to her even when she was jealous. So doing something like to her was just so evil.

"Yeah, ohhh, honey yeah!" my girlfriend moaned.

She shook her ass as she trembled as if she either in pain or experiencing a intense pleasure, or perhaps it was both.

Then she pressed back against me, moving back until her ass was firmly pressed against my thighs and my cock vanished into her stretched butthole. She clenched and I nearly had to stop as it was hard to support my own weight. The way it squeezed my manhood made me want to cum immediately. I had to hold on hard to her hips and try not to get my mind blown along with my load.

Kara seemed to know what I wanted, and if she was in pain she hid it well and asked me to fuck her. Which I did, but this wasn't going to last for much longer as it was simply to much.

In no time at all I was at my climax .

"Please, please cum in my ass" my girlfriend pleaded in the way that always made me want to do exactly whatever she wanted me to do "I want it soo bad".

Then I was doing it and I let her have it all. She didn't move until I'd gone soft and then she got up to stretch. As for me I couldn't of made myself get off the bed for anything less important that World War Three.

"I'm going to soak in the tub for a bit" Kara told me as she handed over the radioactive space rock ring "I'll be a while so you get some sleep".

Normally she a big fan of post sex cuddles, so I could only assume I'd already met her love and affection quota for the day and given how much attention she craved from me that was saying something.

"Okay" was all said in reply.

I got comfortable, closed my eyes and then went to sleep. Not caring that I had silly grin on my face or that I was lying on top of the bed while naked.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author Note.**

I have this idea for a future DC Gothic story. In 2012 the age of superheroes comes to an end. The Justice League has bee disbanded by Superman, and the heroes either retire, go home or leave Earth.

This leaves Gothic with nothing to do as the super villains are out of business too. He's killed most of them, and those left are in hiding or are being hunted by heroes loyal to the government.

Raven works for the balance which means she's not got much to do either, as there are periods of history were super humans aren't that active. Plus her husband is very depressed, which is bumming her out. So she decides to go a working vacation with her grumpy hubby.

But this time they have to be a bit evil. Because balance requires both. However rather than just go destroy stuff they have to conquer a planet to save it. They replace a greater evil with a lesser one, which means they can indulge their darker desires somewhat, but they won't go too far because they are a lesser evil. They won't go totally mad with power because this a temporary thing, and they have a boss keeping an eye on them.

What I need is a fictional setting that's going to suffer horribly, things get so bad that getting conquered by Dark Gothic and Dark Raven is actually an improvement for the locals.

The setting has to have some magic, but it does not need to be primitive, so it can have cool tech as well. Hot babes are a bonus because Raven likes being in a harem, she's kinky that way, but it's not vital as she wouldn't mind it just being the two of them.

Ace could be in it too. She might take human form for a while or just be ascended. Putting her in the harem would make things easier as she can re-write people's minds. Which is a handy power.

Anyway if you have any thoughts or suggestions then let me know.

**Reviews **

**DarkAvenger001 **

I have not see the 200th episode. It sounds worth watching. So I will check it out if I get the chance.

You think Gothic and Dean Winchester would get along. He seems like a jerk to me, but given his life who can blame him. I could have a Gothic run into him if you have a plot idea. Give me some ideas and you'll get full credit.

**Joe Lawyer **

Well he thinks he's ready. We know that he won't be able to handle it, but people can fool themselves.

Ace become an immortal high power and it's only confirmed that she remains ascended while Gothic is off being Dark Angel. She can always come up with a plan to make herself his long-term partner. Or I can just make a new character who happens to be immortal.

I do plan for some side stories that involve dimension hoping. Since they don't take place in any DC Verse they will be proper crossovers.

Ascending sounds like the worse thing ever. An immortal goddess, well maybe in the future. He's got a thousand years to get through before his alien goddess gets him to herself. Nice idea with the Kryptonese I should be able to do something with that. Maybe I can come with my own interpretation of Kryptonian society and culture as well.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Halloween Part 1**

**Slade Wilson Former Safe House – Jump City – October 2002**

Deciding that I could no longer to deny my fate I had gone into the house's study and had willed myself to face mankind's greatest torture.

Paperwork.

Inheriting the wealth and property of a millionaire was not a simple process. There were forms to fill in, wills to be carried out, and letters to reply to. Thankfully Deathstroke, had a good account and an equally good lawyer. I didn't even have to worry about either of them screwing me because no one who had worked for the world's greatest assassin, would be then be foolish enough to betray that man's chosen successor.

Most of what I had to do was to just check things. I had part ownership in a number of businesses all over the United States and safe houses just like this one in a number of cities world. The invests in Jump City were the newest, which struck me as odd as Wilson had tried to destroy this city a few times over the years.

Deathstroke had also owned a lot of stock if the stockbroker, who was also the best money could hire, did his job then I wasn't going to have to worry about being short of cash. Assuming of course the women in my life didn't get bored with shoe shopping and started buying an equal number of cars.

"Hey, honey" greeted Kara as she opened the door "I just wanted you to know that I'm making a chicken dinner".

I'd missed eating a proper Sunday dinner, so my girlfriend had decided to make for me. I guessed that I must have mentioned it at some point. Neither of us talked much about the worlds we'd grown up on, but I had mentioned a few things about my old life when asking her about her home plant.

One of those few things she was willing to discuss was how to talk to her in her native speech.

"Nahkluv" I said in Kryptonese.

It meant thanks, and it was one of the few words I knew that could be used outside of the bedroom.

I was attempting to learn Kryptonese and not Kryptonian, because it was for every day use and it translated into English much better than the more formal and very alien, Kryptonian. I couldn't even look at the more ceremonial stuff written down. It was so complex I felt like a primitive just trying to read it. It made no sense to me, and I read Old One, which made no sense to Kara, so at least we were even on that score.

"Khap zhao rrup" she said to me.

If I had that right it was 'I love you', but I couldn't just say it back because a man said it to a woman differently. 'Khap' was only 'I' if a female used it, assuming I remembered that correctly.

Also 'zhao' meant romantic sexual love and also lust, which were apparently the same thing to her species, which went a long way to explaining our sex life. Her people rarely had sex without a strong romantic attachment, she'd confessed that it wasn't unheard of, but the idea of lust not being a part of romantic love was really strange to her.

Which also explained why she'd gotten so frisky on our second date, she'd simply known that I was a suitable romantic partner and had tried to express that growing feeling. She'd confessed that last night, along with the fact that she'd pretty much planned our whole romance right from the start.

She just hadn't been able to predict what would happen between Raven and I during that whole Trigon thing. But to be fair I hadn't seen it coming either, and I'd lived with Raven for about a year before that event. Robin had to been the one to tell me, but it hadn't sunk until after the magic girl and I had started dating. Which was just before Kara had turned up looking to join the Teen Titans.

"Khahp zhao rrip " I said

"And you call me?" she prompted.

"Zrhueiao"

It meant beautiful, but it could also mean handsome if she said it to me. It didn't require you account for what gender you were or what gender the person you were talking to was, so it was easy to remember.

Kara then kissed me, which meant I'd said it right as she was a big believer in positive reinforcement.

"You should see Blackfire and Ace" my lady love mentioned "they're going out tonight as Teen Titans".

Ah yes Halloween. The one night of the year you're suppose to take candy from strangers.

"They were Teen Titans" I pointed out "so it's not much of a costume".

"No there going as the other Titans. Robin's Titans".

Which is what we all called the original group as by the time Kara had joined the team Tim Drake had already started to spend less time being a hero. I'd taken over later, but there had been times when it was just Raven, Supergirl, and Gothic in the Titan Tower. By then we hadn't really been his Titans.

"Blackfire is going as her sister" my lover told me.

That made me laugh, and that got my girlfriend going. It took me a few moments to calm down.

"Glorious, more brightly coloured unhealthy snack foods".

That was my best impression of Starfire, it was awful, but the silly voice I used got Kara laughing again.

"So who is Ace going as?" I inquired after the lol session.

I sort of counted as one of the originals, even if I hadn't actually done that much with that group. So it might be me. I wasn't sure if the idea was creepy or flattering.

"She's going as Raven" was the answer I was given "she using her powers to levitate so she looks even more like Ray. It's so adorable. She didn't want to dress as you because they don't have your costume down at that new store, and your clothes are just way too big on her".

Well that made sense. I didn't really have a uniform. I tended to dress how I wanted to dress. Even Kara didn't really have a fixed uniform any more.

"Oh I have some mail" my girlfriend then said.

She wore leather and denim jackets a lot these days, so the letters had been hidden in her pocket. I often wondered how she carried things when wearing her old uniform.

"I stopped by Titan Tower" she then explained "oh and Raven has a box of fan mail that was addressed to both of you in what will be her room. Some of it was just for you, but a lot has both your names on it".

Clearly she'd used her X-ray vision to sneak a peek. Which was a bit rude, but at least she hadn't hidden anything from me.

"I didn't know you like poetry?".

That sounded a little random, or it was until I connected the dots. Someone had sent me some poems.

"I don't" I told her "Raven knows that so she must of put them away. I can barely stand the stuff she writes".

"Aww, I and thought you were a romantic" Kara said in a not serious way.

"I am" I replied "it's just that I don't like emo poems".

Despite this I could quote a few lines of Raven's work.

"Well you're a rocker and a bad boy, so that makes sense" reasoned Kara "but what puzzles me is this: Why do so many girls in this city want you to have some of their underwear? Is this a turn on for you, cause you have some of mine to wear if you want".

"That is in no way the reason" I replied "I have no desire for any girl to give me their underwear".

That had not as convincing as I'd hoped.

"I'll leave some under your pillow just in case you like having a pair around" Kara promised "not to wear, but to remind you of who belongs in your bed".

God I hoped she didn't think I was that weird. Then again with her X-ray vision she'd know that I wore boxers all the time, so she was just trying to tease me.

Then going on to tell me about the letters she said

"You got invited to a big, fancy party tonight in Gotham, but you can't go cause you have work".

Yes monitor duty. But I was working with my sexy alien babe, so it was all good with me.

"And the hostess is Tali al Ghul" she added in a soft growl.

Ah well that explained the invite. I wasn't known in Gotham as anyone important other than Shadowflight. However my future wife no doubt who was behind that mask. However it was best not to mention that as Kara very valid reasons for not like Miss al Ghul.

"Oh and you've been asked if you'd like to be sold at a charity auction".

Some men tend to fail at listening to what their partners have to say. Sadly I rarely got to experience that. I heard nearly everything and reacted to it.

"Wait, what?"

Kara smiled and then explained.

"Every November there's this silly fund-raiser for people who get hurt because of fights between people like us and the bad guys. The Titans never get asked because there aren't really part of the League. The super heroines get sponsored to do something with a group of people. I went camping with some cute little boy scouts last year. The oldest was like nine or something. They were all so sweet. They picked me some wild flowers, and I fought a bear".

Anyone else would be confused, but that all made sense to me. She'd gone camping with some kids and a bear had wandered into the camp site. She'd then gone on to protect the children.

"So you raise money by doing something fun with cute kids, and I get sold as slave?" I asked.

That didn't seem right. Then again I'd warp the tiny little minds of children, so maybe it was for the best.

"Only for a day" Kara informed "I think last year the Flash spent the his time fixing some rich old ladies gardens. He made an entire hedge maze in one afternoon".

That was impressive.

"I bet you'll just end up being dragged around and shown off by some emo girl with really rich parents, some one who fancies you like Ace does... can I have like five hundred thousand dollars?"

"What!"

Even for me that was a lot of money. I had a few a hundred million sure, but most of that was tied up with investments. I had millions in accounts, but the banks here couldn't just put that into a suitcase.

"I want to bid on you as Kara Kent" she told me "Kal got a million dollars last year, but you're not as famous so half a million should do. I want to tie you to your bed for the whole day so you don't get tempted".

Okay, she was going crazy.

"My answer is no, as I don't do the sexually submissive thing thank you very much, so there will no restraining me to anything, but I will not have sex with anyone who pays me for it. That I can promise".

Even I had my limits. Whoring myself out was one of them.

"Assuming you have a choice, someone evil might win you. Lex Luthor won the bidding for Kal a few years back".

Given that slavery was illegal here I didn't think it would work out that way.

"I guess Lex trying to kill him" I reasoned.

"No just to humiliate him" my girlfriend answered "I just want to tie you to a bed and have my wicked way with you. So it's not like you'd have to do any of the work".

Yeah like Lex Luthor didn't want to do kind of thing with Superman.

"The answer is still no" I said.

Kinky as that sounded getting tied up would make me feel helpless, which would prevent me from relaxing. And besides I knew enough spells to escape even from that sort of trap.

"Aren't I worth that much" Kara asked.

She then used one of her looks. The adorable one that made her look like she'd been thrown out of heaven for being too beautiful. I would have to give her something or my heart would break when she turned on the puppy dog eyes.

"Tell you what you can have a credit card, and while I'm gone you can shop as much as you want. Take the girls with you and buy girl stuff".

She accepted that compromise, but only after adding a few terms of her own.

"Okay, but I'm going to do wear you out the night before, and then I'll buy some sexy outfits for when you get back. You won't even be able to talk to another girl by the time I'm done with you".

Well that was one way of dealing with the issue. It was a scary way, but she couldn't kill me with sex. At least I couldn't see how. But if there was a way I'm sure she'd find it.

**Ethan Rayne's Shop – Jump City – October 2002**

"Please don't think I am ungrateful" said Ethan Rayne to the hooded figure "but I don't understand why you want me to unleash so much anarchy. I mean if you like this Gothic fellow so much, it seems odd that you'd want to add to his burdens. I'm a Marvel fan myself, so I never cared much for DC , but I know life isn't exactly easy for the heroes here".

"I bet you like playstation more than Xbox as well" muttered Ethan's current employer "I smite people like you".

Anyone who could pluck you out of one dimension and bring you to another was not someone you wanted to mess with so Ethan kept his mouth shut. Which was a struggle for the chaos worshipper, but he didn't want this god thing to smite him.

The robed figure then lowered its hood to show a surprisingly human appearance. Ethan wasn't at all fooled by the illusion, he was hardly the greatest of Mages, but he could read auras well enough to sense the sheer amount of magical power this being had. No human could have this kind of power, few gods would be able to manage it either.

"I'm doing this because he's been tamed" explained the entity known as the Traveller "that Kryptonian girl might as well have put a leash on him, she's domesticated him. Well I am not putting up with that. He's suppose to be having adventures and fighting super villains, not settling down with that Supergirl chick".

The Traveller then raised his arms and did something that caused a thunder-storm to start just before saying. "IT ANNOYS ME!" In a very dramatic voice. Then the being calmed down somewhat before going back to his ranting.

"I mean whose going to keep buying my comic if the hero doesn't have to deal with any real problems. The worse he has to put with these days is a teenage girl's crush. It's funny sometimes, and the sex stuff keeps those internet perverts happy, but without the excessive violence it's not really working as a comic book".

Ethan had read these comics, and he thought that Kara bird was quite the catch. In his view anyone who could get a girl like into tight leather trousers was a bloke worthy of respect. Sure he liked his ladies a little more seasoned, but he could understand the attraction.

"He's so doped these days he's not thinking about getting a harem. He's suppose to be shagging Trigon's little brat, and at least a few other evil women".

Trigon had been mentioned before. Apparently the two beings had met before and had an intense dislike for each other.

"For a part demon she's disappointing, however she at least likes Gothic's darker side. They could of been great together, but no she had exercise her free will and end up serving Cosmic Balance!" the Traveller added.

At this point the chaos worshipper was starting to wonder why such a powerful god thing didn't just fix things, but again he held his tongue as he didn't want know what this Old One meant by 'smite'. Ethan had the horrible impression that it involved tentacles.

"What was the point of getting Ra's al Ghul involved if he's not going to marry Tali as planned. An immortal warrior leading an army of ninjas would so awesome".

Not for the first time Ethan wondered just how demented his current employer was. Sure the rewards for tonight's fun were good and all that, but there was so much crazy a man could take.

"Maybe I should get started" the Chaos Mage suggested.

The Traveller agreed that it was time.

**The Watchtower – Earth Orbit – October 2002**

"What are you thinking about?" Kara asked me.

I turned my head to consul next to me and saw that my girlfriend was looking at while resting her head on one her hands. She looked like a teenage girl in love, which she was.

"About your Halloween costume" I replied.

And that was the truth. She hinted that she was going to wear something special for our little private party later.

"And about the fact that we have a lot of sex" I then added "I didn't think women enjoyed it as much as men".

Okay they could, but unless they nymphomaniacs they didn't normally want more sex than the man and I wanted sex nearly all of the time.

"We don't have that whole 'sex is dirty' issue on Krypton" Kara explained "it's not such a big deal when you don't have STDs, and decent birth control comes in a pill".

She mentioned the birth control thing before, because naturally I'd been worried about her getting pregnant. Not that this was likely to happen as were to different species, but half breeds did exist they were just very rare.

It wouldn't be a bad thing per say if it did happen. It was just that neither of could be a full time parent right now, and there hadn't been a kryptonian/human before, at least not as far as anyone knew, so we'd no idea if any kids we might have would be healthy or not.

"Besides I told you that romantic love and lust are the same thing for me, and if our sex drives weren't compatible then we wouldn't even be together. It's not like I've slept with a lot of men either, or any women which is a shame because I am a bit bisexual. So we could have a threesome when Raven gets back".

She'd mentioned the bisexual thing a while back, but I hadn't taken in seriously as this had been before we'd gotten together. It wasn't odd for a girl to try to impress a guy by saying stuff like that. Some men went in for the girl on girl thing. Me I liked sex to be me on girl, but if I knew both of the women really well, which I did, it might work.

"Really?" I questioned "how does that work if you only have sex with someone you love. Can you love two people if you mate for life".

I was human and human males at least weren't as into the whole monogamy thing as kryptonians were, so having two sexual partners wasn't such a big deal for me, well not all the time, but it was for her. She only agreed to share because it was better than fighting with Raven. Although that could be the point, maybe she thought us becoming a three-way thing would make things better.

Kara laughed a little before saying.

"I don't want two lovers, but I could fool around with another girl if you wanted me to. I'm submissive to your needs, and I want to be so it's okay. Besides watching you rub oil all over Ace and Fire was kinda hot. I'd like to see how worked up me doing that to another girl would get you"

It had gotten her in a very good mood, and her jealously hadn't been too much of an issue either. Maybe because it had involved her so my attention hadn't been totally focused on another women. Which did upset Kara because she wanted to be my life partner, not just my girlfriend. Which she couldn't be so she might also be trying to make herself so desirable that I'd marry her the first chance I'd got. I did want to marry I just couldn't promise that until I knew what Raven wanted and found if I could get out of the deal with the Demon's Head.

"I could massage Blackfire if you want me to. But we can't a have threesome with anyone cause that would mean cheating on your other sweetheart" my alien babe goddess of a girlfriend reminded "and anyway it's different with Ray cause we've all been in bed together, so it's not a big deal for me if we went further. I'd only do it for you of course, and Raven might not want that as she's completely straight".

My other lover had major Daddy issues, not that you could blame her, so her thing was older and slightly evil men. Which I was, even though I didn't look any older. As for my evil side. Well didn't make much of an appearance these days. But she was totally straight, very kinky but she only wanted her bad boy boyfriend in her bed.

Although come to think on it Raven wouldn't disapprove of me sleeping with another woman because she liked the harem idea. Of course that could have been a joke or just an attempt to turn me on. My part demon girlfriend was as perverted as me sometimes, but her sense of humour was very unlike my own.

"And Raven is sexy" Kara then said "I can so see why you used to tie her up. I wouldn't mind a chance to spank her. If you allowed it".

Now that was a inciting idea.

"Wait a second, if your submissive to me then how come you run my life?" I inquired "I'm not complaining, it's just that you are so the Mum of our little messed up family".

That didn't quite add up. Submissive girls didn't try to run your lives. At least not so directly.

"Because you need someone to help take care of you" Kara explained "I don't run your life really. I just like making things easier for you".

Well it seemed that way sometimes, but on the other hand she had been the best Teen Titan when it came to following my orders. Also if it was more about making me happy than wanting to run her lover's life, it did sort of make sense.

"It makes me feel good. It's not like its that much work really, and you don't order me around anyway. Plus I have super speed and I don't need much sleep. Besides I'm totally devoted to you and I want you to be my husband. It's all I ever wanted... well that and a few kids. I did plan to be scientist for a while before having babies, but instead I'm Supergirl".

Hard to imagine it, but the Maid of Might did want to be a loving housewife who stayed at home with the kids. Seemed a bit of a waste given how much power she had, but having such a down to earth dream was part of why she didn't go alien overlord on everyone, like her cousin sometimes seemed to.

"I don't want to get married now" Kara then added "I'm broody, but I want to be in the Justice League, it's just that I need a life outside of it too. A job would be nice, the problem there that I can't plan my time well enough. So I look after our strange family. Which is a job as far as I'm concerned".

Indeed it was. Ace needed a lot of attention because she'd been denied it growing up. Granted a lot of that came from me, however it was Kara who did the mother stuff because I simply couldn't handle that sort of thing. I just spoiled her with attention. Which Ace also did need as she'd never gotten that either.

As for Blackfire, well she was an adult yet sometimes she did need someone around to stop her from having too much fun. For someone who had been a ruler of a whole planet she didn't handle adult responsibilities that well either. Although she was a good heroine, she at least to her redemption seriously.

"Did lot's of women do that on Krypton?" I asked "you know, become housewives".

"Yeah it's a patriarchal society... I mean it was".

That surprised me. I mean that Kara wanting to be a more old fashioned kind of wife was one thing. However you'd think that an advanced society would be more into equal rights, but evidently that was not a universal concept. Clearly it was not an extreme thing as while Kara had her issues she was a very strong women (in ways that had nothing at all to do with living under our yellow sun) she knew what she wanted and would work hard to get it. Still it was rather shocking to hear her say that.

Plus there was the fact that Krypton hadn't been as perfect as people might think, however lots of people did believe that because they forgot that Superman's strong sense of ethics actually came from his human parents. Kara was a much better example of a typical Kryptonian.

"I told you that Kal is head of the family" Kara reminded as she sensed my surprise "I am older than him, but I'm a woman, so I should really do as he says".

Not that she did, but she didn't have to here and nor should she. Even I didn't like bossing her about, and she enjoyed it when I did. Maybe because I didn't do it all the time, and I let her get on with the home-making. Which meant that she was in a big way also in charge of the household.

It made sense that I was more the authority figure in our household as that would be natural for her, even if I didn't boss her around. I didn't even need to as she was doing what was right for the family. Clark was simply too over protective were as I had faith in her. He was trying to be a father to a woman who was ready to be a mother. That was his mistake, and it was why she was distancing herself from him.

"I thought he was head of the family because he was Jor-El's son" I replied, as not everything made sense yet "Your Uncle was head of the family before he died and Kal El is his only child, so I assumed it was like inheriting a title".

"It is, sort of" my girlfriend clarified "the head of the family is the oldest living male, which is now Kal, but back home I'd of married into a different family by the time he'd grown up so he never would have been my boss. That's why I am called Zor-El. Back home I kinda belonged to my father, but if I married say someone from the House of Dar then I'd of been Kara Dar-El. I'd keep the family name but I'd belong to my new family which is why the Zor part gets replaced"

That sounded sort of like how women took their husband's name when they got married. So maybe not as alien as it first sounded.

"I'm not saying women were considered to be property" Kara went on "I was raised to obey my father and my uncle, but they only told me what to do with my life when it served the whole House. It was a political thing more than anything else. A House has to be united and it need allies so marrying a daughter to another House helps build those alliances..."

"Stop" I said when something she said confused me "you told me you chose your mates, so how could you be married to some guy as a political move. I mean when you told me about the... taste test, you said that you have to think a man would be a good father before the test could happen. So how do arranged marriages work?"

She seemed surprised that I asked that question.

"I'll get to that" she promised before carrying on with what she had been explaining "Anyway as long as I didn't embarrasses the name El I could do what I wanted. I was never told I couldn't go out and have fun. Yeah I had friends that my parents approved of, but we got to do stuff we wanted to do. It's not like on parts of Earth were women can't even leave their homes without having a man with them. Even the less progressive Houses would never treat a woman that badly".

Thinking on it I realised that humans had no right to judge the gender roles of alien civilizations. My distant ancestors would have considered their cattle to be more valuable than their own daughters. Sick by the standards of most of the western world, but there were nations out there that still had those sort of attitudes towards the female half of our race.

"The House of El were scientists so I was expected to be one too, then when I'd get married I'd be whatever that House needed me to be. But who I married was up to me, because you can't make someone fall in love. There were arranged marriages. Not that I had to worry about that. But if I had I would of grown up with that boy was my friend, so by I'd know him well enough to figure out that he'd be a good husband and father or not".

That sounded quite sensible once you understood her race as well as I did. Arranged marriages weren't that odd for humans either. That whole thing about getting the permission of a woman's father before you asked for her hand was still considered to be a big deal. Even if it was a mere formality in the more liberal parts of the world.

"Okay making sense so far" I allowed "but what happens if you're not compatible with the guy you're House wants you to marry"

"If he wasn't what I needed then I'd know, you know how that part works, and I'd do what you call dating, and my family would host parties so I'd get to met men they approved of in advance. I was lucky they let me find my own partner, which I did, twice, and both times I found someone I could be happy with".

She'd still be with that the first guy if her home world hadn't gone boom.

"But if I hadn't then someone who thought I might be a good match would court me".

"Court you" I said with a small laugh "you make it sound like you were the daughter of a noble".

"I kinda was" she said by way of an answer "The House of El was one of the ruling families".

She then went on to explain that her family line extended back thousands of years, to a time when the more savage tribes of Kryptonians still waged war against one another. Sort of like Earth in the present day as modern humans were savage tribes to her.

"Wait so, you're like a princess" I realised.

Oh my god I'd been screwing royalty.

"I can't believe this" I muttered "this is insane. I can't be sleeping with a noble lady. I'm just a messed up guy who has whacky adventures. I can't be in a relationship with a sort of princess".

"It doesn't change anything" protested the love of my life "I chose you".

"Yes it does!" I argued

Thankfully the techs were making an effort not to listen, and most of the time we'd been speaking too softly for them to hear anyway.

"No it doesn't. Blackfire is a princess" Kara reminded "She was Grand Ruler of her whole world and she's just a good friend to you, so why would freak out about me being part of a noble family".

That wasn't a question, but I answered it anyway.

"Because I've not been... doing things that might be illegal in this state with her".

It had to be against galactic law to bugger an alien princess.

"Hold on a second" my girlfriend urged "wasn't Trigon some sort of demon-king?"

Well he was categorized under demon lords, but other texts labelled him demon-king because he ruled an entire dimension. Which also made him a Hell-god depending on how you viewed such things. There was a lot of speculation in the books, and stuff about Trigon sometimes got mixed with legends about other powerful demons, but I knew that he had ruled an demonic underworld and if I was his heir that meant I had a claim.

"Yeah he was a demon lord in title" I said to her "but..."

She stopped me there.

"So if your his heir that means you inherited everything that was his. Like with Deathstroke".

That was sort of how it worked.

"Well I have a tiny fraction of his power. However Raven's the one who killed him, so she's the one who can take the throne".

Demons did have some laws, and patricide was an acceptable way becoming the ruler of a hell.

"Yeah but that still kinda makes you a prince if you think about it" she pointed out "the heir of a prince or even just a lord is a noble. It might not count for anything here on Earth, but neither does the fact that I'm from a ruling family, because the ruling council doesn't exist any more. And since you actually have a kingdom... sort of, that means I'm the lucky girl whose screwing royalty".

Huh, that was true kinda, and it was odd she'd used that expression, because I'd not said that out loud. She must of known that I'd been thinking it.

Also it explained a lot about why she didn't seem to understand that clothes were not free. A noble's daughter would rarely pay for things. Assuming they used money. Which might be the case as shopping for things seemed to be really novel for her. Then again maybe they'd just had things delivered.

"Okay, but that doesn't mean I'm worthy of you" was my next statement.

Then again who could be? She was Supergirl for crying out loud.

"Of course your not, silly. I'm your goddess" she informed me before singing "_I'm a bitch, I'm a tease, I'm a goddess on my knees. You know you wouldn't want it any other way"_

Yeah that song could really be about her. Aside from the fact that she wasn't actually a mother. She did seem to embody quite a few of those contradictions.

"So you're my goddess, who I don't actually worship, pray to or build temples for" I said.

"Yeah, but I could _soo_ make you do all that" she mock threatened with a big smile on her face "My caveman is just lucky I like being told what to do by a big, sexy guy".

That made me feel all warm in the pit of my stomach, and I must have been blushing by now. Still it really felt odd that she wanted to my little housewife and stay home with the kids.

"Tis true" I admitted "you could so do that".

Yeah we were an odd couple, but it worked. Somehow it worked.

Although a few things still didn't add up. I was sure that Kara was trying to modify my behaviour, not necessarily a bad thing, but that did not make sense because we were so suppose to be compatible. If that was true then why try to change me? And of I was suppose to be the authority figure in her life, then why did her species dope their mates up? Granted it was more extreme in my case, because she had a lot of milk but still there were unanswered questions here.

I came up with the answer I could, that she was doing it to make me happier, and thus to ensure we stayed together in the long run. Which made some sense, as that would be a valid reason for her, yet it didn't seem quite right,

The only way it really all made sense was if Kryptonian women let the men think they were in charge by acting submissive. But all the time they were actually in charge.

This happened a lot with human couples as well even the more fashioned wives, who obeyed their husbands to all appearances, tended to be the ones who made sure the household ran smoothly.

It was like a massive conspiracy. Let the men think their in charge by running the governments and even getting to boss their partners around while the women made sure things actually got done. In fact it might not even require any organisation what so ever. Daughters would just copy their mothers and pick it up without having to be told.

Of course it wasn't perfect because if the system was flawless then there'd be no need for women to fight for equality because they were already in charge. The battle of the sexes would have been won long ago and the men wouldn't even know they had lost.

The existence of feminism only made sense if not all the women argeed with the plan. None of them could admit that there was any sort of plan, because then the men would know. But clearly they didn't agree with it.

On the other hand I could just be over thinking things. If Kara was in on the plan she wouldn't admit it, and if she didn't know about this female agenda then she would just think the whole idea silly.

The best way to test my possibly insane theory would be to mentioned it and see how she reacted. If she tried to distract me with food or sex, or even both, because I knew her well to know that she'd use those tools of distraction. Then I would know the truth as id she didn't she just laugh at the idea. Also I needed to run this by a man of great intelligence who was also single. An outsiders perspective would be useful, even if was just to point out that I was going crazy.

But not yet. For now I would make it look as if I was thinking about the topics we'd just discussed.

"I guess your lucky that your cousin thinks you should marry for love" I told the alien babe "if he wanted to marry you off to build an alliance then you'd never see me again"

Kara suddenly stopped smiling and nearly slumped over the computer she was suppose to be using to monitor weather conditions over North America. There was nothing bad due to happen. However there had been, and might still be, villains with power over the weather. So really she should be paying attention. Me I was watching over the USA by keeping track of 911 calls. Normally this wouldn't be left to a noob, but it was Halloween so most of the League were at the party in the mess hall. Blackfire had intended to go, which was why I was duty tonight, but she changed her mind and was even now taking Ace trick of treating. The telepath was a little old for that sort of thing, but she could pass for a younger girl due to being rather small in size and the Raven outfit was just so freaking adorable.

"Is something the matter, Zrhueiao?" I asked of my lady love.

"I was just thinking about marriage" she replied "I can't be your wife".

Thinking fast I came up with something that might at least allow us to have something to look forward too. Besides if she actually wouldn't have to wait long if she went to the future next year as I would have a thousand years to arrange a wedding. Female evil plan or not there was no way would I'd ever be foolish enough not to take the chance to put a ring on her finger. I wanted her to have that family, and in a thousand years there would be the technology to allow us to have kids. There would be even if I had to fund the research myself.

"Well we're both going to be around for a while" I pointed out "I'm immortal and you could live for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands cause of the yellow sun thing".

"So you're saying that you will marry me, if you we ever get the chance"

"Ye.."

That was as far as I got as she threw herself right at me. Getting hugged by a fully powered Supergirl is not something that should ever be considered safe. At least not when she's forgotten that her boyfriend is actually just an enhanced human and not a member of her own race.

"Oh my spine!".

She broke the chair I'd been sitting on, but thankfully not me, and as I got up every techie in the room was looking right at us.

"You okay, honey?" she asked as I got up under my own power.

I would have assured her that I was, but that was when an alarm on my computer went off. Hundreds of 911 calls were being made in Jump City. Something was very wrong.

"We have a problem" I told Kara as we both stared at the screen "someone is messing with our city".

"Ace and Fire, they're all alone" my worried girlfriend said.

Yeah she was so the Mum.

"Not for long" I assured "we're going to find out what's going on and then someone is going to pay for ruining Halloween".

Time to hit things with sticks.

Author Note

Seems almost like a Gothic/Kara chapter doesn't it. We know it isn't, but to DC Gothic everything seems more or less normal for our sort of hero. Oh boy is he in for a surprise in the next chapter. (Evil Laugh)

Also I hope that my take on Kryptonian society makes sense. I was trying to explain how Kara can want to be a submissive wife and still go out and fight crime. She's motivated to keep her family happy and strong. That's why she's able to let Ace and Blackfire bond with Gothic in a way that would normally make her jealous. She was trying to get them to relax around each other so they could get closer.

She was brought up to think of the family first and to do what she was told by the man if it was best for the family. Superman was trying to take away from her mate and the sort of family that the Teen Titans were, so that is why she didn't just do as she was told. That and her experience with Darkseid would of soured her a bit to the idea of anyone telling her how best to run her life.


	10. Chapter 10

Author Note

I'm not very happy with this chapter. I might have to re-write it later, but for now I just can't seem to do better. I think I should write a few chapters for another story. A change is as good as a rest as they say. Hopefully I can recharge the batteries and come back to this story refreshed.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Halloween Part 2**

**Ethan Rayne's Shop – Jump City – October 2002**

"Is everything ready?" asked the Traveller

"It is" replied Ethan "every costume was sold, I made sure that they'll be an equal number of heroes and villains out tonight, with some magical creatures thrown in".

While no one would keep any of the powers or abilities from the creatures orould trigger the meta-genes of a few kids. Enough to ensu character they became during the spell, the chaos magic wre that the future Teen Titans would have some recruits as well as a plenty of foes to fight in he future.

"Then begin" commanded the god thing.

Rayne did exactly that. He knelt before the bust of Janus and began to weave the spell that would create the night's fun.

"_Janus, I invoke your spirit. Hear my plea. Seize the night for your own reason. Come to us, appear and show to us that which is infinite power"_

Ethan then marked his face with the blood that came from the animal he had sacrificed to the Janus of this dimension.

"_The mask transforms itself into flesh and blood. Your holy presence curdles the heart. Janus! Take the night!"_

(Line Break)

**Streets - Jump City – October 2002**

"Thanks for doing this with me" said Ace to Blackfire as the two young women walked down the street "I wanted Goth to take me out, but...".

She stopped talking when someone got close enough to overhear.

"He's the Dad, and that means he has to have a job" said the alien princess once they were free to talk "that how it works".

Well it worked that way on television.

"Maybe it's better he didn't" Ace reasoned "I don't want him to treat me like a little kid. It's nice sometimes, I just wish...".

The telepathic meta-human stopped herself again as this was hardly the first time the two super powered girls had discussed this topic. In fact it was starting to become annoying. Still Blackfire made an effort.

"If it were me, I'd just enjoy it" the alien babe said "if you're the baby of the group that means he'll spoil you the most. He'd spend more time with you too, and if you really want him to see as a grown up then just ask him if you can be his sidekick".

That stopped Ace in her tracks, which was good timing as a large party of kids had just come round the corner.

"Sidekick" the telepathic girl muttered before more loudly saying "do you think he would let me work with him?"

"Sure" Blackfire replied as she took some candy out of the plastic pumpkin she was carrying "just tell him you want to learn from him. He'll be really flattered, and you'll get to spend more together. Then when you want him to spoil you, then you go back to just being Ace and act like the little sister he wants you to be. Have your cake and bake it"

"Have your cake and eat it" corrected the girl in the Raven costume.

Ace thought about it for a moment and figured that it could work. She did like being the baby sometimes as she'd never gotten to be a kid, but at the same time she didn't want to be treated like a child all the time. If she made herself a new hero identity, as Gothic's sidekick, then he'd have to treat as more of an adult for them to work together. Then in their home life she could enjoy being his little sister without worrying that the guy she was crushing over never saw as the young women she was.

"But I can't be his sidekick" Ace pointed out "I'm not in the Justice League".

"They might let you join if you were a member's sidekick" the princess reasoned "but even if they don't, so what? There's no rule that says he can't train you and then take you on patrols. And if Titans start-up again you'll need that training anyway, so that's your argument if he doesn't say yes right away. We both know he won't say no if you give him the sad eyes ".

The telepathic meta-human thought it over and realised that this plan could work.

"You're really smart, Fire" Ace praised.

The Princess shook her dyed hair and gave her friend a big smile before saying.

"Of course I am. I'm gorgeous, clever and I have super powers. What's not to like about me?"

Ace might of said something on that subject but there was a sudden chill wind, and as it washed over the two young women they both collapsed to the ground.

(Line Break)

**Streets - Jump City – October 2002**

Starfire, the Grand Ruler of Tamaran picked herself off the ground, and dusted herself off. She then looked around and asked herself a question.

"Why am I back on Earth?"

"Star" said a soft voice.

Koriand'r turned to see a face she had looked upon in over two years.

"Friend Raven" the former Teen Titan said switching to English "you are even more small and adorable than I remember".

The daughter of Trigon suddenly found herself pressed up against Starfire's chest as the alien queen picked her up and span her around. This was rather a shock to the part demon because she'd never been close to Starfire before and now they seemed to be best friends.

"Did you have a growth spurt?" Raven asked of her team-mate.

"It is you whose spurted, only you have spurted down" explained Koriand'r "I think I have travelled through time once more".

They would have discussed this more, however all around then other people were waking up, however not all of them looked like people any more.

"I think we should go to Titan Tower" suggested Raven "maybe Robin and the others are there".

"Robin has left the Titans" said Starfire as both of the female heroes took to the air "however Friend Gothic may still be the leader of the team".

"Whose Gothic?" asked Raven.

(Line Break)

**Streets - Jump City – October 2002**

In a brilliant flash of light Kara and I appeared on the streets of Jump City. We'd not had any time to find out what was going on, and we got the chance to look around we were none the wiser. What we found was total madness.

"What the fuck!" my girlfriend swore.

That surprised more than chaos going on around us. I was the one who normally used foul language.

"Yeah what she said" I muttered.

My lover started to scan the area with her X-ray vision which made her eyes glow white, while I tried to get a feel for the area using my less scientific senses. I could sense a lot of magic here, but didn't feel anything like Raven's magic. Trigon's power was connected to rage, however that also wasn't anything like what I was feeling. I didn't have years of experience with mystical forces to guide me so we would have to figure thing out the old fashioned way.

We were still both studying the scene around us when a black-robed popped up out of no where.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Some green light hit me and then next thing I knew I was looking up at the night sky, but only until Kara's face blocked the view.

"I thought that spell killed people" my girlfriend said in a very worried voice "but you're okay. Guess you really are immortal".

"That's me. I'm the man who never dies" I replied "and I never leave the toilet seat up either".

"You're so not as funny as you use to be" Kara told me.

Clearly we'd gotten past the stage of our relationship where she felt the need to find me amusing all the time.

"What happened to the Death Eater?" I inquired as Supergirl helped me stand up.

"I broke his wand, knocked him out and then tied to him to a lamp post, upside down. I'd of done worse but he was just a kid".

"You mean some brat tried to kill me?" I asked.

Well he hadn't tried really, he'd of succeed if not for the fact that I wasn't mortal.

"Yeah he looks about eight years old, and what's really weird is the wand turned into plastic when I snapped it. It's just a kid's toy".

Kids turning into their Halloween costumes. That reminded me of something.

"Okay so we..."

All the background noise went away and the only sound was a rhythmic breathing that sounded rather artificial.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me" I said while starting to back away.

"Is he the bad guy in one of those movies you like so much?" questioned my lady-love "Dark Vader?"

"Darth Vader" I corrected as we both started to retreat "and how can you know what a Death Eater is and not know who this guy's name".

"I can speed read so I read those books really fast" reminded Kara "but I don't pay much attention to the stuff you watch cause its boring. I just like spending time with you".

She did love the cuddles, that was true.

"Fair enough" I replied.

Darth Vader said nothing as he took out his lightsabre and activated it. Kara meanwhile had changed direction. She was now walking towards an armed and dangerous Sith Lord

"Oh that reminds" she said casually "I made you a laser sword for your birthday, but I had even better idea for a gift, so I'll give it to you...".

Darth Vader then used the Force to send Kara flying down the street. While the Darkside was not magic Supergirl had special no defence against it seemed. Of course it could be magic, as the characters around us were more like deadly illusions cast upon real people rather than real transformations.

Thankfully Kara could fly so she able to control her movement and she recovered very fast.

"If you weren't a kid I'd..."

She had to stop again as the red bladed lightsabre was thrown at her. She caught it and crushed the handle which turned to weapon into broke plastic and a few batteries.

"Honey, would you please knock this guy out" requested my girlfriend "this is so a battle for nerds".

I gave her look which promised retribution for that comment later, in the form of her being naked over my lap, however she just sent a smile my way that told me that she'd make me forgive her. We might be different species, but there were times when we seemed to know exactly what the other person was thinking.

Going on the offensive I felt as if time had slow down. It hadn't of course it was just that my remarkable brain could process information faster and give commands to my body without me having to actually think about what I was doing. This was a product of training more anything else and was partly why Robin could fight so well. For the likes of us most people were slow and predictable.

I started off with a smoke bomb, it was my hope that a diversion would distract Vader long enough for my second move. Which was take out my collapsible staff and to throw it without extending it. The baton never hit its target, but I hadn't meant it to. My actual take down move was suppose to be a good kick to the head.

However it never connected and I found myself raising into the air while an invisible hand grabbed my neck. Thankfully for me I had expected this to happen and a quick burst of demonic fire sent at Vader's chest made the Dark Lord lose focus just long enough for me to punch his helmet covered face. Which hurt like hell, but it did the job.

"That was way too easy" I commented.

"It's an illusion" Kara said as she moved over to stand beside me "I can see normal human beings with my X-ray vision, they only look like fictional characters on the outside".

"Some sort of glamour" I mused, thinking out loud "a very good one since they have powers".

Had to be that Halloween spell from BTVS or some variation on it.

"So can you remove the spell?" asked Kara "or counter it with another spell".

I thought the matter over for a second before saying.

"No, but all we have to do is find the guy casting the spell and then make him end it".

Or possibly just smash the statue.

"Someone's in Titan Tower" my girlfriend then told me "I can hear the intruder alarms going off".

Her super hearing was really good.

"Go check it out" I instructed "I'll see if I can use my magic to find what's causing all of this".

Rather than fly off Kara just stood there with her arms folded across her chest.

"You know I'm senior to you in the League" she reminded "you can't boss me around any more".

I did sometimes forget that I wasn't in charge of the super hero sides of our lives. But then I remembered that she liked doing things for me.

"And here I thought you liked me telling you what to do" I said.

"This is work not home" she pointed out "we should report in and see what the League thinks".

"Now hold on a moment" I protested "this our city. We protect it. We'll call for backup if we need it, but I think we can handle this".

We really didn't have time to argue.

"Fine" she agreed "just say please, first".

I tried not to sigh in despair.

"Please will you go and see what's happening at the Tower while I try to end this spell" I requested rather than ordered.

"That's better" Kara said as she took the air.

"Women" I muttered under my breath "totally nuts the lot of them".

**Titan Tower - Jump City**

"I don't know why you..." Kara started to say, but she had to change tracks when she saw the two people who had broken into the temporarily abandoned tower "Starfire, Raven what are you doing here, and what happen to you, Ray. You look like a kid".

"Kara it is good to see you again" greeted Starfire, who looked as if she wanted to give out more hugs.

"Who are you?" asked Raven.

While she was saying that Kara also quickly scanned both of the girls with her X-ray vision. Starfire's biology was alien, however she was slightly too tall. Raven's physiology was human underneath the surface so it took nearly no time at all for Supergirl to figure things out.

"You're Blackfire and Ace" she stated.

Her room-mates had been transformed along with the others. However they didn't know that. They either thought they were the people they dressed as or their minds had been altered. When it came to magic it wasn't always so easy to figure things out.

"I'm Supergirl" Kara said to 'Raven' "if you have her memories then you won't remember because we haven't met yet".

It was also possible that this 'Raven' had the memories of a younger version of the real person, so she might from a time before Kara's ship crashed on Earth.

"Supergirl?" 'Raven' question "are you like Superman's sidekick or something?"

"His cousin" Kara corrected "I'm from the same planet he is".

"This is most perplexing" 'Starfire' complained "I have travelled in time once more and you seem to think I am my sister".

"You are" Kara tried to explain "It's a kind of glamour. You look like Starfire and think you are her, but that's all an illusion you're really Blackfire".

"There is a spell on us" confirmed 'Raven' "but I have no idea how it works, or how to do undo it".

Kara wasn't worried about that.

"Gothic is dealing with the spell" she assured.

"Star mentioned that name" said a puzzled 'Raven' "but I have no idea who he is".

Knowing that it was possible that this 'Raven' was from the past, or at least the mind was, Kara knew that she shouldn't say anything about the present.

"This might just all be an illusion" the hot alien babe said "but I don't know if the you in the past will remember any of this, so I can't tell you anything about your future".

'Raven' narrowed her eyes and tried to read this Supergirl's mind, but being an alien she didn't think in English and she had some decent psychic blocks as well, so all 'Raven' got was a few images of a young man, and there was something oddly familiar about him.

"Listen to me" Kara said "there's a lot of bad things happening out there, and we have to try to it keep under control. None of the bad guys out there are really evil so we have to contain them without hurting them too much. I need both of you to help me".

"Yes, we must aid Supergirl!" declared 'Starfire'

'Raven' sighed and said.

"Fine"

(Line Break)

**Ethan Rayne's Shop – Jump City – October 2002**

A lot of people are cowards, not because they are bad people, but sometimes it is because they are spineless little twats. Ethan Rayne was one of those people. He had a coward's survival instincts, so when the front window of his rented shop was smashed open Rayne was already on the run. Which was a shame really because somebody should have been around to see how cool it looked when Gothic threw the Mortal Combat villain Sub Zero, or at least someone who looked the guy, into the store via the large window at the front of the shop.

Not that Ethan got very far. The Traveller was still there and he'd apparently decided that Rayne should stick around. Literally in fact as Ethan found himself stuck to the wall.

"Magic made fake or not, that guy was tough" commented the immortal as he pulled out one of his twin gauss pistols.

It was true that the characters running around out there were no as tough as the real thing, however that didn't mean that any of them were pushovers. Making it all the way to this shop, which had been easy to find given that the store was advised the local paper, had been a bit of an uphill struggle. Gothic hadn't been attacked that many times, but he'd had to keeping stopping to break up fights.

"Okay where's that statue?" the Justice League member asked of no one.

He intended to shoot it, assuming he could find it, and then he was going to beat up the Chaos Mage behind all of this madness. After that he might end feeding Rayne to a baby Old One. It depended on how bad of a mood he was in after the ass kicking.

Without further delay Gothic headed into the back room and shot the bust of Janus which as expected ended the spell, the small blast wave had no harmful effect but it was impressive to see.

"I honestly thought you'd take a little longer to find this place" said a robed figure as he stepped out of the shadows "not much of an adventure really. I think made you too powerful or maybe just a bit too smart".

"You made me?" inquired the Justice League member.

"I took you from your old boring life and gave you a new one" claimed the man in the robe "I made you immortal, I changed your body so that you would evolve. I even got Ra's al Ghul to chose you as his successor. But then you went and disappointed me. You settled down with Supergirl. I mean don't get me wrong, she's a real good catch, but the problem is that she domesticating you. You're getting boring. She makes things to easy for you, and if you don't have anything to struggle against you won't improve. I put you on the path to becoming either the greatest hero this universe has ever known or even the greatest villain, but instead of doing that you've shacked with some blonde bimbo...".

Gothic sent a small blast of fire at the being, but it might as well have been a gentle breeze for all the good it did.

"I am a god. I am your patron" the being then said "I was ancient when mankind was still swinging from tree to tree. "I am the Traveller by title, were you to hear my true name, your mind would cave in and your heart would explode within your chest".

"Did you just quote Metatron?" the immortal asked.

"I do love that film" remarked the Traveller, before changing the subject "oh and your sales are down".

"Sales?" Gothic asked.

A comic book appeared in the immortal's hands and he looked it over before remarking

"Wait so I'm a comic book character. Does this mean all of this isn't real?".

"No, no it's real" assured the Traveller "The comic is a fictional representation of your life. I brought out the DC franchise in five different dimensions, and devoted it to you and your adventures. Which was fine for the most part. You did whacky things. You slept with attractive women. You even killed a few people. You time travelled. You went into a Hell-dimension and won the heart of a rather sexy part-demon magic girl. You made yourself a nice, big fan base, but now what are you doing? Settling down with a nice girl who wants to give up the superhero life in order to be a house wife!".

The figure under the hood sighed

"I mean know I'm breaking the fourth wall here, but I have a movie deal coming up" the Traveller then said "I wanted it to be all explosions, with an epic battle of good against evil, but at this rate all I'm going have Britt Robertson playing Supergirl, Daveigh Chase, as Raven. Then there will be a complicated love triangle, someone poor girl will get left at the altar, you know that sort of thing. I think that we can both agree that this must be avoided at all costs".

The former Teen Titan had no idea whose those people were, but he assumed that were famous actresses.

"So what do you want me to do?" Gothic asked as he lowered his gun "I won't dump Kara if that's what you have in mind".

"Actually she's very well liked by some of the fans" the Traveller informed "she's considered to be fun. I just don't want you getting to domesticated, so I planned some crossovers, like this one. To keep things interesting".

"You did this" Kara said angrily as she entered the back room of the store followed by Blackfire and Ace "people could have gotten killed!"

The god thing seemed more amused than anything else.

"Are you going to fit me little girl?" the Traveller questioned "because that would be so adorable".

Kara was about to do something incredibly foolish when somebody else made an appearance.

"**Mxyzptlk!"**

The way the Traveller had said that name send shudders up the spines of those who had backbones due to being humanoid. It was the sound you hear before something very powerful and very scary, stomps on as if you are bug and they have big shoes.

"You weren't thinking of tormenting a superhero were you?" asked the imp from the 5th Dimension "because everyone knows that driving capes up the wall is my thing. You can't come here...".

Whatever the imp had been about to say was cut short when the Traveller teleported a short distance, somehow took Gothic's Nth metal sword from the immortal, and then had the point of the blade touching Mxyzptlk's neck before anyone could process what had just happened.

"Got to love Thangarian weapons" remarked the hooded being "even being in contact Nth metal disrupts your powers. I could so easily drive this sword this sword into what passes for a brain and end your existence".

"I thought he was a near omnipotent reality warping being not a magical creature" commented Kara.

Given that the imp from the 5th Dimension had been a pain in the ass for her cousin, Supergirl had always worried that he might turn up to make her life less enjoyable.

"He is" the Traveller explained "he alters reality using mystical forces like I do. His method is different but Nth metal still hurts him".

Gothic smiled slightly as ideas started to fill his mind. Nth metal was rare, however he knew where he could get his hands on some more. All he needed was some information and someone could at building things.

"Anyway he is the deal" the cloaked figure said to the imp "I'm just here to keep my comic book engrossing enough to be worth buying. So if you let me get on with that then I won't stab you in the neck. You can assure the PTBs in this reality that I won't do anything that leads to planetary destruction, and what have you. Actually go and do that. Oh and I won't prank Superman either I promise".

The imp from the 5th Dimension looked ready to wet himself, but he managed to nod and when the Traveller took the blade away from his neck Mxyzptlk simply vanished.

"Right then I have to go and sort a few things out upstairs" declared the god thing "you kids be good now".

With that the Traveller vanished the Nth metal sword fell to the ground.

"What the fuck was all that about?" Blackfire swore.

"I really don't know" said Gothic, who now just realised that Ace was hiding behind him.

The immortal got the impression that the telepathic meta-human had tried to read either Mxyzptlk's or the Traveller's mind, and hadn't liked what she'd seen.

"Let's all just go home and pretend none of this ever happened" suggested Kara "everyone okay with that plan?"

Everyone said yes, but Gothic's super human brain was already planning what to do should either of these beings turned up again.


	11. Chapter 11

**Author Note**

I took a break from this story, and now I all refreshed and ready to write some more chapters. My plan to avoid getting bored with anyone story is just to write updates when I please for what story I please. Should mean more posted chapters from now on. Assuming of course that life allowes me the time.

Also this chapter is not meant to put women down in anyway. Really it's just about some of the women Gothic knows, and how they seem to want to drive him crazy. Of course they don't it's just that sometimes relationships between different genders, be that friendship or otherwise, can led to both happiness and sadness.

Reviews

Gordaime

I'm glad to see my hard work is appreciated. 'Don't Blink' is that a subtle way of suggesting putting Weeping Angels in this story?

Joe Lawyer

Given that the Traveller is a very powerful cosmic horror whose been locked away for centuries and then infected by humanity, he's not exactly mentally stable. Also you are wise not to assume that the Traveller just exposed a weakness. That may have all been a performance.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Women **

**Rooftops – Gotham – November 2002 **

"The night is dark and full of terrors. The mean streets of Gotham city are not safe for..."

"_Everything alright out there Shadow?"_

The voice made me jump a little, which could of ended badly as I was sitting on the edge of rooftop and this was a very tall building.

"Seems peaceful enough" I told Batgirl, who was monitoring the city from the Batcave "unless there's something happening I should know about".

Okay so the night was dark, but it was sometimes full of terrors. I just happened to be here on a dull night.

"_Nothing's going on" _said Barbara Gordon over the radio_ "I was just worried that you were going crazy from the cold. It's freezing out there and you've been talking to yourself"_

Gotham in November was not exactly a warm place. I was starting to miss Jump City really badly. On the other hand it was so cold that the muggers were in staying indoors. Even I felt chilly and I had demonic fire powers to call upon, which meant I could literally make things hot as hell.

"Does everyone listen on me when I'm in Gotham?" I asked.

I had the mental image of the Batclan sitting around the Batcomputer laughing their heads off while listening of audio recordings of me making a prat out of myself. But that might just be paranoia.

"_Kara wants me to keeps tabs on you" _Batgirl explained_ "she's worried about you being out all alone"._

Aww that was sweet of her.

"I'm immortal it'll take more than sub zero temperatures to harm me" I assured even as it started snowing again.

"_She more worried about you ending up in bed with some hussy" _said the voice over the airwaves.

"I wouldn't cheat on her" I replied, with a little anger in my voice.

What a horrible thing to suggest.

"_She knows that" _Batgirl said_ "you're pretty much perfect according to her. You don't even leave the seat up and you pick up your own smelly socks. Oh and the sex is pretty amazing from what I gather, if she wasn't Supergirl I think she'd have trouble walking by now". _

Women and their gossip. Only such talk could make me feel totally humiliated and yet so very proud of myself at the same time.

"_So aside from not being able to marry her when she decides it's time, in her eyes you're the best boyfriend ever" _added the police commissioner's daughter.

"Wait a second, what do you mean by: When she decides it time?" I asked "how does she plan to make me get down on one knee. It's up to me to chose when I buy the ring, she can't just make that happen?".

What I heard over the comm device was some laughter and then.

"_Oh Gothic, you poor man. You poor, poor, silly, silly man. You really have no idea do you? She's got you right where she wants you, and you don't even know what's going on"._

My idea about a female conspiracy was perhaps not as crazy as it sounded. By the sound of things Kara was keeping Barbara well informed about how things were going between us and Barbara was no doubt telling my girlfriend all about things were going with her and Richard Grayson. I'd be willing to bet that they weekly meetings as well. I could picture them enjoying foam cover coffees while they compared notes.

"_You don't have a way out, so just sit back and enjoy the ride" _Batgirl advised between fits of giggles

I found myself wondering when all the women I cared about had stopped being the wonderful people I'd thought they were and had become evil schemers, who wanted to control my life and/or drive me crazy. At least Raven had only abandon me. I was completely helpless to fight it as well, as I actually wouldn't mind being married to Kara.

"No wonder we're losing the battle of the sexes" I muttered very softly.

_"Anyway it's not cheating that's worrying her" _Barbara Gordon clarified once she'd calmed down _"Tali al Ghul, is still in town"._

Now Kara's concerns made sense. Given what Tali had done during our first meeting it was understandable why my girlfriend would be worried about me being in the same city as her. And even without the date-rape issue it wouldn't really be cheating as Tali was technically my fiancé. Which meant Kara was actually the other woman. If those two ever met there would be a chick fight, no doubt about it. Sadly it wouldn't be the fun kind you get along with torn clothes and hair pulling.

I would have taken the time to imagine one of the fun kinds of girl on girl action, but that was when a call for help reached my ears, so I said.

"Signing off. Someone needs me".

For once I remembered to turn off the radio. I then fired a grappling hook and leapt off the roof. A second or two later I was at scene, and I saw a lone woman being forced down into a dead end by two generic thugs.

"Give us your purse, lady" a crook with a small knife ordered.

Standard mugging then. No big deal I'd have them knocked out and dumped in the nearby skip within the next ten seconds.

I threw a smoke bomb and then jumped into the smoke. I didn't even need to see what it was I was doing, but it helped that I could make out faint outlines. I grabbed the heads of the two crooks and slammed their heads together hard enough to make sure they wouldn't be getting up again for a while.

"There's nothing to fear..." I started to say

"Oh there's a lot to fear" said a male voice "take me for example".

I turned to see the Joker, and for the first time all night I felt just how cold it actually was.

That what was when something hit me in the back of the head, and I heard the Joker say.

"And fade to black".

**(Line Break)**

**Joker's Hideout – Gotham – November 2002 **

When I woke up everything hurt and it was really dark. Also I was afraid, because the last thing I remembered was seeing the Joker. The bleached face and purple suit ensured that he couldn't be mistaken for anyone else. If that wasn't bad enough I was dangling from the celling, the weight of my body was making my arms sore.

Ignoring the pain and the fear I forced myself to focus on something other than the fact that I was likely going to be tortured sometime soon. Having been tortured by Slade Wilson I had every reason to fear repeating the experience, so I had to get away from, wherever the hell this was.

Looking around I noticed that it was dark, but not so dark that I couldn't figure out where I was. I could hear water gently moving and the air had a hint of salt in it. However I was indoors, so that ruled out the sea. Also it was warmer here which suggested that this place had heating of some sort. The biggest clue was the diving board. It was at just the right height so that someone standing on it would be able to met me eye to eye.

This was confirmed moments later when someone came into view.

"Harley" I greeted, trying to sound like we old pals "why is it that every time I see you I end up either tied up and in danger, or just in danger. I don't think we're the good friends that we should be".

I no longer had my mask on, so she knew who I was. Which meant that there was no point pretending I was someone else.

"Sorry, stud" she apologised "I didn't know that you were Shadowflight".

"Ah yes so Emo-boy is Shadowkite" said the Joker over the PA system "I guess Bird Boy must of introduced you to old Basty. Well it doesn't matter really. The plan hasn't changed".

Shadowkite? That was the best nick name he could come up with. The clown must be getting old.

"Plan?" I inquired of Quinn once I was sure that the Clown Prince of Crime wasn't going to bother to explain "What is his scheme now?"

"Actually it was my plan" Harely told me, sounding rather pleased with herself "you see Bats has been busy for a while, and he hasn't been paying Mr Jay much attention. Which really upset my sweetie, so I got the idea of grabbing someone Batbreathe cares about. That way he's sure to come swooping into save the day. Just like he use to do for the Boy Blunder. Ah memories".

I was terribly disappointed. I'd been abducted for the sake of nostalgia. This was simply embarrassing.

"Really. That's your plan?" I asked "you lured me into a trap because you want attention from Batman. That is truly pitiful, Harley".

Her reply came in the form of slap supplied by her gloved hand. Which hurt enough to make me wonder if she in fact a low level meta-human. It would explain a lot, she was very nimble.

"You men are all the same" Harley complained "Always putting me down. Telling me I'm useless".

I would have felt guilty, if not for the fact that it was her fault I was the hostage of mad man.

"I'm not the problem" I argued "you women are all nuts!".

The second slap hurt even more. She was really offended by my words. More than she should have been really. Something else had to be behind her attitude.

"Oh let me guess" I said while trying to make myself sound less hostile "Joker's been taking out his frustrations on you. Hasn't he? Come on you can tell me. Did he hit you?"

The make-up and outfit she wore hid any bruises she might have, but as soon as I said 'hit' she reached up and touched her own cheek. Which told me all I needed to know. He had hit her, but she couldn't say anything because Joker was listening in. However he might not be able to see us.

I also got angry. Joker was a real sick bastard. I wasn't exactly happy with the women in my life right now, but I'd never slap one of them around. I might not be the nicest guy on the planet, but I was not misogynistic git.

"Harley!" the Joker called over the PA system "get in here. We have work to do".

It hurt a little when I saw Quinn flinch due to the tone of voice the clown used. She was a bad person, but she didn't deserve to be treated so badly. Yet she turned to leave because '_The heart wants, what the heart wants_. _Even that which is worst for it_.' I honestly couldn't say which of us was worse off right now.

Well actually I knew it was her, because I was getting the hell out of here. No way I was going to stick around here. Nope, no torture for me. I wasn't a coward, but I knew how dangerous the Joker was, so it was time to leave.

"Don't fall in the water" I heard Harley say as she moved out of view.

Upon hearing that I looked down and muttered the words of a spell. The darkness below didn't vanish, but I became aware that swimming pool was full of fish. Given that this was the Joker's hideout then it was a fair bet that they weren't Koi Carp. There were also two men walking around the edge of the pool. Which made me wish I had telekinetic powers because that would allow me to push them in. The League had a very strict no killing people rule, but accidents did happen.

I then considered summoning up a baby Old One, but I wasn't sure it was a good idea. Letting abominations into this universe was unwise, because they might try getting it without an invite at some point. Also there was the fact that my spells came from something even more dangerous so I was not longer confident in using them. On the other hand I didn't want to spend any more time here. I was is danger, so the risk was worth taking.

After that I spent a moment or two to decide if I should kill the Joker or not, but I chose to simply flee like mad and then go home to my girlfriend's awesome boobs. Because while I'd never admit this outloud I really wanted a cuddle, and her breasts made great pillows. Besides he'd only end up escaping anyway or Batman would stop me.

So escape it was.

A plan quickly formulated in my mind.

Step 1. Summon.

Muttering the magic words I brought fourth the larvae form of an Old One, as hoped it distracted the thugs. They opened fire with their machine guns, but they didn't have the firepower needed to slay what was pretty much a baby Elder god.

Step 2. Swing.

While the horrible abomination below was dealing with the crooks. I lifted my legs so that I could kick away from the diving bored. I had to do this a few time to really get moving, and when I did I used another spell. This one weakened the chain.

Step 3. Break.

As hoped the chains snapped as I used all my strength to free myself, and in a move that just had to look really cool I somersaulted in such a way that I landed on the board. Which shook under my weight, but I just aboutmanaged to not fall off.

Step 4. Escape.

Not wanting to push my luck I didn't delay. I made my next move. Which involved jumping rather than climbing down, but I knew how to roll the right way and my suit helped to cushion the impact. Then I went right for the window, and smashed through it.

Step 5. Run

Which was exactly what I did I ran, and I ran. I didn't have my radio, or any other way of calling for help. But when I stopped to catch my breathe I then realised that I didn't actually need to keep running. I knew where to go. The Batcave.

(Line Break)

**Slade Wilson's Former Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

It had taken hours but finally I had gotten home. I'd had to fill out a very long report, and then I'd been questioned about my escape methods. Then Batman had 'questioned' me. I'd call in an integration, however when things concerned the Joker it was expected that the Dark Knight wouldn't just let things go. He wanted all of the facts.

By the end I'd wanted to quit. I didn't need all this hassle, and I was pretty sure that no one else's methods of crime fighting were getting picked over to such a decree. I deserved better. I'd be the leader of my own team not that long ago.

The only reason I didn't give up on the hero life right there and then was because I'd made a promise to Starfire. Plus leaving the Justice League wasn't the sort of thing you should do without at least telling your girlfriend about it first. Not if you wanted boob action.

Also if I was honest with myself I didn't actually want to give up the life. Really it was meaningful the things I did. Tonight had just been a bad day at work that was all. As for the third degree I'd gotten. Well it might help if I actually earned some respect rather than just to expect it. That or I could make my own team again.

A little dangerous what with Cadmus, but the current state of affairs wouldn't last and it was something to think about at least. Going back to being part of a semi-independent group would be nice, and I could fund a small team.

Since I hadn't been thinking about where I'd been going I ended up walking into the kitchen, possibly because I was hungry, and what I found there made a bad night worse.

Kara, Fire and Ace were standing next a hole that had been a wall of my house. In fact there was another hole as well. One that led into the garage via the laundry room. Well it wasn't really a room, but the washer and dryer were in, so it was a good a name as any.

However where the holes were wasn't at all important.

"What the fuck!"

My cursing drew the attention of all three girls, who had until this point been busy arguing with each other. They hadn't even noticed that I'd entered the room.

"Where have you been?" Kara demanded to know.

Amazingly she managed to look intimating while wearing a pink fluffy bathrobe and equally pink fluffy bunny rabbit slippers. It had to be a super power of some sort.

"You were suppose to be back hours ago" she then said "Why didn't you call me?"

I'd been about to say something along the lines of: I got tied up at work, but this was no time for humour.

"Where have I been" I said back "Why didn't you call me? No I think the real question here is: What the hell happened to my house?".

Blackfire, who along with Ace was also dressed for bed, tried to explain.

"I did that, but only because Kara pushed me".

That sounded like the excuse of a five year old. Not a memeber of the Justice League.

"What?" was all I could say.

"Kara pushed Fire into that wall" Ace informed me.

Yes I could see the impression she'd left. Kara must have pushed hard. Which was worrying because she could of killed Blackfire.

"So then Fire blasted her, but she missed" Ace finished.

"Okay" I said, before turning to my girlfriend so I could ask "Why did you push Fire into the wall?".

"Because she..."

It took about thirty seconds to get an answer.

"Because she's seems to think that this is her house" the telepathic meta-human supplied "and that started a fight".

"This is my house!" Kara argued, before changing tracks and turning to me "I mean it's my home. It's your house".

"So let me great this straight" I said, directing my words at my girlfriend "You and Fire had an argument, and that led to fight".

That part I got, but it didn't explain everything.

"If that's so, then why does Ace look as guilty as sin right now?".

She might be empathic, but that didn't she mean was any good at stopping other people from knowing how she felt.

"I started the fight" the teen confessed "I told Kara that she couldn't tell me to go to bed because I don't have to listen to her".

Lord save me from sixteen year old girls.

"I'm suppose to be your sidekick" Ace then said "that means no one else is allowed to tell me what do".

Upon hearing that I decided that the whole sidekick thing could wait until after Christmas. Clearly she didn't understand what being the crime fighting partner of a member of the Justice League would actually involve. She'd need more training that I alone could provide. But those concerns could wait for another time.

"And that all resulted in my home being damaged" I summarised.

Sometimes you just had to ask yourself: Are women really worth it? But on the other hand few females had actually tried to kill me, so maybe I was being overly harsh.

"Yeah" said Blackfire "Just because me and Ace don't pay rent doesn't mean that we should be bossed around".

By now I was starting to see the bigger issue here. Kara was trying to run the household, which was fine, but she wasn't anyone's mother. Fire and Ace didn't want to be treated like kids. This needed to be dealt with, but that could wait too because I just wanted to go bed. Besides the hole wasn't really that bad so it could be dealt with once I woke up.

"I'm going to bed" I told the girls "assuming my bedroom still exists".

"Your rooms fine" Kara said "but your bike has been... damaged".

I looked into the garage and saw the most horrible site ever. The Gothbike was slag.

"You killed my bike!" I yelled out.

"Its all my fault" said Kara "I shouldn't of lost my temper".

"I'm really sorry" apologised Fire

"Me too" added Ace "I'm sorry".

This was like coming home and finding out your family dog was dead. It was terrible.

"You can get a new bike" said Kara.

"No I can't" I told her "there was alien tech in bike. It was all custom made by Cyborg. It was totally unique".

It had been no mere motorcycle, it had been a work of art. Doubly so with the cool paint job Nightwing had done.

"We really need to stop fighting" Blackfire commented "it's getting out of hand".

"This has happened before?" I asked of them all.

"Well I did kick a door down" admitted my alien honey "and Ace...".

"I broke your computer" the telepathic meta-human confessed.

Surprisingly I cared about none of that. I only cared that my beloved flying bike was now in pieces and partly melted.

Then I realised that this was all getting out of hand. Clearly you couldn't have three super powered teenage girls who all liked one guy, living under the same roof. Either I'd have to kick someone out, or I'd have to impose some sort of order upon the household.

I decided to try option two since option one was rather drastic. But if the first choice failed that would be my only recourse.

"Go to bed all of you" I ordered.

Naturally all three of them protested and they all tried to blame each other.

"Now!" I said firmly.

Thankfully it worked. They all went upstairs, and at least had the decency to look ashamed with themselves.

As for me I went into the living room. Collapsed on the sofa and tried not to cry over the tragic fate of my beloved flying motorcycle.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author Notes**

In the following chapters we get another look at the future. It isn't the exactly the same future we saw in 'Why I Hate Time Travel' because that time line was erased. However things are somewhat the same.

I changed the dates a little so that Terry McGuinness becomes the Batman in 2042 at the age of eighteen. Which is 10 years after Batman retires for the second time.

The reason for is that I plan to fit the Dark Knight Returns into this time line. It will be set in 2022's and will end differently as it's in the future and the Joker dies in 2010. Superman still gets his ass kicked by Batman, but this doesn't result in Wayne Manor being destroyed.

Arella is born in 2030, and grows up in Wayne Manor as Bruce Wayne's god-daughter and ward. Raven can't be a full time Mum due to being a handmaiden of a goddess and Gothic is cursed with an interesting life so its not safe for him to be a full time Dad. Which isn't to say they aren't around it's just that Arella doesn't see them as much as she would like.

Also at this point of time the Justice League has been reformed with Superman in charge, but it's a smaller group now, less than ten full time members, and Arella has been a part of the team for a year or so. Raven is a part time member and Gothic has his own team who aren't anti-heroes exactly, but they have their own methods and goals.

Anyway it's not really about Arella anyway she's just one of the important women in Gothic's life and she in DC Gothic Teen Titans so another apperence seemed like a good idea. Mostly she just turns up to try and change the future. Which might seem very selfish, but given who her parents are she was bound to do something insane.

Reviews

ImaRussian

Yes he will. Which is part of what these parts of the story has been about. Gothic needed pushing into being 'the man' so he can handle the harem he gets later.

Gordaime

I know Harley is like those women you hear about with abusive partners. She keeps going back to him, and you can't help but want to try and save her. Which Gothic does during his time as Dark Angel.

No Weeping Angels then. Thankfully I have other ideas for surprise crossovers.

Joe Lawyer

Gothic is scared of the Joker so running away is natural. Also why would he freeze the pool? the whole point of summoning the monster was to serve as a distraction.

She already is working on something.

Kara can't help Gothic with his powers. She's not human, she has no understanding of magic and her knowledge of science is so far ahead of his that it would years for Gothic just to learn the basics.

Besides he's not motivated to learn more right now. Although he will be soon. Kara leaves very soon and then Gothic will have time to learn new things.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Women II **

**The Batcave – Gotham – November 2052**

Twenty-two year old Arella Wayne had for the last ten minutes or so, been supporting the entire weight of her body with just one hand. She hadn't been still the entire time as she'd swapped hands every thirty seconds. What made the feat impressive was that Arella hadn't touched the ground with anything other than one of hands.

Arella's dark hair just about touched the floor as the balance beam was half a meter off the ground, and her nimble legs were pointing straight up to the roof of the Batcave. Her body was covered in a synthetic material that was a shade of dark purple.

Anyone watching would note that she was a first class gymnast, and very strong despite her petite form. Arella had even inherited her mother's talent for magic as well as her father's skill for kicking ass with any weapon a person could use.

Even at her young age she was considered to be a powerful woman, and one of the world's greatest heroes. She even had Batman as a boyfriend. Not the first Batman of course as her Uncle Bruce was in his eighties, she had a thing for older men, but not that old. No her romantic partner was Terry McGuinness. So all things considered, she should be a happy person. But she was not.

"He's not coming for Thanksgiving is he?" Arella asked of the man in the shadows.

She knew exactly who was there. She couldn't see her godfather, however she could sense his presence and judging by his emotional state he had bad news to share.

"No" said Bruce Wayne "your mother will be here, but your father is busy on Mars".

Well he was actually on one of the moons of Mars, but Bruce had no idea why the immortal was there and all contact had been lost with both of the planet's moons over a day ago. No doubt there was something major going on, but he had no intention of worrying his god-daughter.

Arella rolled forward and got to her feet.

"Same old story" she said as he headed to the stairs.

Her father was never around when she really needed him to be, and he wasn't in the Justice League either, and they could really use his help. The world was no safer now than it had been fifty years ago and the League was a lot smaller than it use to be.

"Where are you going?" the original Batman inquired.

"Out" was all Shadow Witch in reply.

Bruce was about to go after his young ward when his wife called out to him.

"Let her go beloved. She will need time to calm down" advised Talia Wayne.

Arella would indeed need some time to calm down, about fifty years of worth of time in fact.

**(Line Break)**

**Streets – Jump City – November 2002**

"I will break you, little girl" threatened the masked Mexican wrestler.

"Ooh, no what will I do" mocked Blackfire "I'm shaking in my boots. See me shaking? In my new boots".

Bane actually took a moment to study the exiled princess, but that was exactly what Blackfire had wanted as it distracted the villain for a few seconds. Well that and to show off the new shoes she had just brought

"Leave her alone" said a male voice.

Bane turned to see one of the thugs he'd hired hit the ground as the immortal made a dramatic entrance.

"I was weakened when last we fought, boy" Bane sneered. "I will not lose this time".

"What? Do you want me to break your jaw again?" Gothic taunted while shifting into a fighting stance. "Well, c'mon, then big guy. Let's party".

Bane charged Gothic, but the immortal simply moved out of the way of the blow and then struck the masked wrestler in the back.

"I love this part" said Blackfire with sigh of happiness.

She was very much looking forward to the show, but sadly for her a blur shot past and hit Bane so hard that the crook was sent flying into someone's car. Half a second later fighter's Venom pumped had been pulled out and a few seconds after that Bane had a parking meter wrapped around his arms.

"Oh Kara" muttered the princess.

Blackfire had been looking forward to watching Gothic beat up Bane again, but Supergirl had put an end to the fight before it really got going. It was very unsatisfying and Fire knew that Kara hadn't done her boyfriend any favours by ending the fight for him.

"Well that was extremely emasculating" complained Gothic.

Fire had to agree with that. She could of blasted Bane herself, but she'd wanted the immortal to win the day. Clearly Kara did not understand that you were suppose to let the man in your life do at least some of the work.

"Sorry honey" the kryptonian said to her boyfriend "but you're going to be late for your appointment"

"Damn therapy" Gothic almost growled.

**Therapist's Office - Jump City - November 2002 **

"And why do I need to look at inkblots?" I asked of my therapist as she as loaded up the computer program.

"The inkblot test, or the "Rorschach" test to give its proper name, is a method of psychological evaluation. Psychologists like myself use this test to attempt to examine the personality characteristics and emotional functioning of our patients. We also use this test in to diagnose underlying disorders and to differentiate psychotic and non-psychotic thinking" the doctor explained.

That sounded like she'd memorised the information from a text book. Which she may very well have.

"So you want to see if I'm insane or not" I said.

"Not exactly" the therapist told me "Now during the test you will be shown a series of ink blot images. All you have to do is look at each ink blot for a moment and tell me what you see. But you have to try and see something. At the end of the test your responses will be analysed, and that will give a better understanding of your thought processes".

"And that will tell you if I'm insane?" I inquired.

That made the mind doctor smile. Which made her face wrinkle in a sort grandmotherly way.

"It's only a test, and you aren't a normal human being anyway so I wouldn't be too concerned about the results. The reason I'm using it is because some people, especially men, have trouble expressing their feelings. You for example deflect issues with humour, so just talking to you isn't enough. I need more insight before I can help you to get to grips with any problems you have. My hope is that this test will guide me".

Well that sounded pretty harmless actually.

"Okay then. Hit me" I said.

The test started and I was shown the first image.

"A women with wings" I decided after a while.

It didn't really look anything, but there was no option for that and you had to give some sort of answer in an ink blot test, so I gave the best I could.

"And this one"

"A mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion".

It also looked a little like to very oddly shaped men giving each other a high five, but I went with what I saw first.

"What about this".

"Two people trying to lift something " was the best I could do.

"And this"

"Errr... a female sex organ"

It really did remind me of a vagina.

"And this"

This was one was pretty straightforward.

"An upside down bat" I said.

"And this"

"Vagina... sorry but it does"

I seemed to have sex on the brain. Although it may have had to do with the fact that I normally got to have sex every day, and I hadn't yesterday so it could just be that.

"And this"

The next one looked like nothing at all. But nothing wasn't an acceptable answer so I gave it a good long stare.

"Two animals climbing... something" was the only thing that came close.

It did sort of look like that.

"And this".

"Err I have to say... pretty much what you'd see if a women had spread her legs to give you a look".

I really did think about sex way too much. There had to be something wrong with me. I was sure I hadn't been this obsessed with female anatomy the last time I'd been eighteen years old.

"Last one" said the therapist.

I gave the last image an intense stare.

"Lots of creatures running away from me"

When the machine loaded up the results I read the information on the screen.

"Hey that says this program is for entertainment and study only" I said "not for clinical diagnoses"

"I never said it was" the woman reminded "it's just to help me understand you a little better".

I should of known that and as for the doctor, well she did have a Ph.D. In psychology, so she should know what she was doing.

"Well you failed if you wondering, but given what you've been through it's not remotely surprising, and this test is very much out of date. However it did give me a few insights. I do have a follow up questions if you're willing to indulge me".

"I can't promise I'll answer, but I also promise I won't lie" I said as I laid down on the couch.

Which was fair as I knew a lot of things no one should know about. Secret identities and such.

"How's your love life?" the woman asked me "has anything changed recently?"

Given that I'd kept seeing vaginas in the ink blot tests this question was one I had expected.

"Great" I answered, but then I reminded myself that it hadn't been more recently

"Well not really great" I corrected "I mean I told you about the girl who abandoned me, but the other women in my life really upset me just yesterday".

"How?" was the follow up question.

"She got into an argument and in the process the girls I live with managed to kill my bike".

By now the doctor was taking notes.

"Why did you say 'kill'?" she then asked.

I had said killed last night as well. That clearly meant something.

"Well it was my bike" I tried to explain "it was custom made. Totally unique and now it's gone. It was like losing a pet. It's silly..."

"No it isn't" corrected my therapist "it's perfectly fine to become emotionally invested in objects. Especially if that object was special. You said it was custom, so who made it?"

"A friend" was the answer I gave "someone I used to live with".

Cy and I weren't that close, but the effort he'd put into building and then modifying the Gothbike made it destruction all the more tragic.

"It was a gift" the therapist said "and it connected you to your past. You told me that everyone you knew when you first arrived in this world has moved on. So to me it seems that losing that bike reminded you of that".

I didn't think that, but I could see why someone else would.

"For me that bike was like a symbol of freedom" I explained "as long as I had it I could just go where ever I wanted when ever I wanted".

"And now you feel trapped?" the woman asked of me.

Sometimes I did feel caught in a role that I didn't want to play, so yeah maybe that was part of the reason why I'd gotten so upset. Although the big holes in my walls had been a big shock too.

"A little" was all I was willing to say.

The doctor seemed to sense that I wasn't willing to discuss that aspect of my life, so she asked something else.

"How did you deal with the situation?"

"I sent them all to bed" I answered honestly.

Well it had been very late.

"And they did what you told them to?" was the next question.

"Well I had to be firm about it first, but after that yeah" I responded.

"I see" was what the women said next.

She paused for a while as if sorting out her thoughts.

"Do you ever wonder if the women in your life want you to take charge".

By now she'd picked up on the fact that I was the Dad of my messed up little family.

"Sometimes" I admitted "but I don't know if I could".

"Why?"

"You ask a lot of questions" I commented.

"You avoid answering them" she countered.

I sighed and then tried to answer the question.

"They're very powerful women" I finally said "it doesn't seem right that I should be able to boss them around".

Would be damn hot. But it did seem wrong to me. I just didn't know if I could take myself seriously if I tried take control.

"Did you know that most men who visit a dominatrix are very important businessmen".

"No" I said "how do you know that?"

"It's my job to know" she informed me.

That or she'd performed the job to pay her way through medical school. She did have a voice for it, that was for sure.

"So powerful people want to be made to feel powerless" I reasoned.

It kind of made sense. Kara did like to feel powerless during sex. But I'd always assumed that was about feeling feminine and delicate. She'd admitted it in fact. She liked me being stronger than her in bed. Although the power thing could be part of that as well. Maybe she didn't even realise that. Although she was very smart, so it could be her simply wanting to feel like a vunrable girl rather than someone who was bullet proof.

"Maybe the reason why they seem to be trying to drive you crazy is because they want you to make them stop acting out".

That could be it. Perhaps I could start putting my foot down more often.

"So you think they're trying to see how far they can push me before I make them behave" I questioned.

"From what you've told me in our past sessions I'd say that they do, but this isn't about them. It's about you. I'm concerned that you spend to much time worrying about how others perceive you. This is holding you back in many ways. It's good that you worry about your actions as a hero, as lives do depend on you. But your home life shouldn't be so stressful. If you don't think you can cope then you need to change how you live your life".

I had considered asking Blackfire to move out, as that might calm things down. But I didn't want her to leave because while I didn't love her I was fond of her. Plus she seemed to understand Ace more than I did, so if she left that would make the telepathic meta-human harder to handle.

"So I need to start thinking of myself as worthy of being the one in charge" I said mostly to myself.

"You're self esteem is surprising low considering who it is your dating. Most men would consider it a huge ego boost".

I didn't tend to think of Kara as Supergirl. Which was a good thing as no girl wants their boyfriend to love the person they pretend to be rather than who they are.

"And then there's the power issue. You're no push over yourself. I've studied your files. You've defeated Supergirl one of the women who you think of as being vastly superior to yourself".

True and granted I'd used trickery, but that didn't really diminish the fact that I had taken her down so easily. And Ace was pretty much powerless against me. I didn't like the idea that I could hurt the people I loved, but it was silly of me to think that I couldn't at least tell them not to do things that made me uncomfortable.

"But I don't want to be abusive" I pointed out "I shouldn't even think about hurting them in anyway".

"Discipline isn't abuse" argued the woman "it's not just children who act up to get attention. Yes it's possible to cross that line, but it might be worse if you do nothing because you've already started. And just think on this: if they did feel abused in anyway. Would they simply put up with that sort of treatment or would they do something about it?".

Given what I knew about Kara I could honestly say that she wouldn't put up with that sort of thing. She was not like Harley Quinn. Kara had stood up to her own cousin, and made him back off. Then when Mongul had threatened to rape her she had certainly made him regret saying it.

Blackfire was hardly a push over either. She'd ruled a world and after all. People who just take what life throws at them don't get to be leaders. Ace was a bit more vulnerable, and wouldn't be able to stop me from hurting her but she of all people was the safest because I only wanted to protect her.

Then I realised that Blackfire had pointed that out to me, and it hadn't actually sunk in. No wonder she felt as if she didn't contribute to the household, she'd been trying and I'd never really let her.

"Okay I think I'm done for the day" I told my therapist as I got up and headed for the door "I have to go home and start being a man".


	13. Chapter 13

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Women III**

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002 **

I'd entered the house will the intention of installing some discipline into the lives of the women I lived with, only that never happen because as soon as I got into the living room I got tackled by someone who seemed be even quicker on their feet than I was. However it wasn't Kara.

"Dad!"

I was being hugged by a woman who looked to be older than me but also seemed to think I was her father. It wasn't until she stepped back a few paces that I started to believe what I had just heard. I could see a little of one of my sisters in this girl, and a lot of Raven as well. Her hair was darker but there was a hint of purple, her eyes were mine, but her build and outfit reminded me of my absent partner. Which meant that I didn't need to ask who she'd call Mum.

"You don't look much older in the future" the woman commented "but you're about eighteen if I got my timing right. Which means you're younger than me right now. That is weird".

"Err hi" I said rather lamely, before mustering my heroic courage "you're my daughter?"

"Of course I am" the woman replied "why else would I call you Dad".

Well yeah that was a good point.

"Okay so" I said "What did I name you and should I be sorry for subjecting you to such a name?"

If I was anything like my mother when it came to naming children she'd be lucky to having remotely normal. The only reason I'd grown up with a well used name was because I was named after my grandfather who had died long before I was born.

"I'm Arella Wayne" she answered "and no you didn't name me. My hero name is Shadow Witch or Shadow Bitch depending on who you ask".

Right that made sense. Arella was the name of Raven's mother, so it made sense that she'd give that name to a daughter. Also I was getting a strong deja vu feeling about this. It was like I'd met Arella before.

"Shadow Witch?" I had to ask.

"I have Mom's magical powers, but your fighting skills" she explained "I'm pretty bad ass, if I used that expression right".

Well that answered one question at least.

"What about Wayne?" I asked "Why Wayne. Don't I have a surname in the future?"

Arella made a face that seemed to express something, but I couldn't quite tell what it meant.

"Bruce Wayne is my godfather" my daughter explained "I grew up in Wayne Manor because you and Mum couldn't always be around. I'm hoping to get to changed it to McGuinness soon. If Terry ever pops the question that is".

"Wait hold on. Terry McGuinness?" I inquired "as in Batman Beyond".

Well she could do worse. He'd be an interesting guy to have as a son in law. That was for sure.

"Yeah how do you know that?" Arella asked "he hasn't even been born yet. Is this that otherworldly knowledge thing again. It still drives Uncle Bruce crazy you know".

Batman was Uncle Bruce. He really must of mellowed out in the future.

"But I shouldn't be telling you about the future" Arella then said "I just came back to see you. I can't stay long because of the damage to the time lines. I really shouldn't of come here at all, but I had to tell you that you need to join the Justice League".

Deja vu again. Starfire had asked it of me as well. It seemed to be very important.

"I am in the Justice League" I told her.

Granted I wasn't an important member, but I was in the JL and that was where I needed to be.

"No I mean in the future" corrected Arella as she started to examine some of the electronics in the house "you're going to quit one day, but I need you to rejoin.. for me".

"You travelled...how far?" I said.

"Fifty years" she told me

"You travelled fifty years into the past to tell me that I need to rejoin the Justice League in fifty years" I finished.

"More like forty-five" clarified Arella "I didn't join till the League until about four years ago".

"Wait, wait hold on" I said as I fully grasped what was going on "you time travelled so we could end up being in the Justice League at the same time".

That sounded selfish, stupid and dangerous. I was very disappointed. Exactly like a father would be. 

"I wouldn't have come back this far" Arella said while trying to avoid meeting my eyes "but I know Mum isn't here because she told me what she did while she was away".

That made me change tracks.

"Wait you know where she is" I said.

I hadn't a clue myself. I didn't even know if she was still alive.

"Sure" my yet unborn child told me "Tibet. She's learning from some monks who serve Cosmic Balance".

Now I knew where she was. **Nanda Parbat she'd gone to see Rama Kushna. That place was protected, but I might be able to get in. **

**"But don't worry Mum will be back" Arella assured "and if I were you I'd be more worried about your mistress"**

**"My what?" I asked.**

**"Your mistress. The blonde woman" my daughter explained "You always have one. She knows who I am and it really upset her. She said we'd met but I don't remember ever seeing her before, and that really got her crying. So she went upstairs". **

I almost ran up to Kara's bedroom, but I stopped myself.

"It's okay" Arella said "I have to go now. The longer I stay the more damage there could be to the time line. It's best for me to go before I get tempted to stay longer. I only came back to tell you to rejoin the League in my time. They need someone like you more than ever. You were always willing to do what it takes to win".

From what I knew about the Justice League in the time of Batman Beyond it was a smaller group that was still led by Superman. Maybe the needed more members to help keep the world safe.

"If it's that important to you then in forty-five years from now I'll apply for membership".

I couldn't believe that any child of mine would time travel on a mere whim. There had to be more going on that a daughter missing her father. I could almost sense it like there was something Arella wanted to badly tell me about but that she also couldn't tell me.

She hugged me again and held on for a while before saying.

"I love you Daddy".

Arella then teleported away in a fashion similar to how Raven could and I was left wondering if any of that had just happened. But I'd have to wonder about that later. For now I needed to see to Kara.

I found Kara in her room, judging by the state of the place she been trying to pack up her stuff, but then had stopped which had left the room in a right mess. As for my girlfriend she was lying on her bed with a pillow covering her face. It wasn't hard to guess what she'd been doing.

It took me a moment to decide what to do, but eventually I moved to lie down next to her. Before I could say anything she had wrapped herself around me and was sobbing. All I could do was hold her close and wait for her to calm down.

That took a while, and by the time she was down my t-shirt had a huge damp patch on it.

Kara then started to get up and she wiped her eyes before saying.

"I should finish packing"

"Why are you leaving?" I asked.

I had guessed why but I didn't want to assume that I understood how she felt.

"Because I'm not in your life in the future" Kara explained as she started to fill up some bags "you're married to Raven and have a daughter who doesn't even know who I am. Which means that things don't work out for us. I wanna leave now before Ray gets back and you chose her over me".

I really couldn't see that happening. There was only one reason why Kara wouldn't be around in the future.

"Or maybe I die" Kara then said "and you just never told your kid about me cause it hurts too much. Well I don't want that to happen so it's better if I leave now".

She never got that far as he started crying again so I knew I had to tell her the secret I'd been hiding. I'd always hoped that I would never have to tell her about her future but now seemed to the last chance I would get.

"Kara, I know why you're not around in fifty years".

"Did Arella tell you why?" she questioned "did she just not recognise me because I look younger?"

"No this is something only I know" I said keeping my voice soft "you should sit down".

When she did I explained as best I could about what happened in the cartoon series. This took a while.

"I'd never just abandon you like that!" Kara protested, at least until she realised that she just had been planning to leave "I mean I want... I don't what I mean, but I don't think you'd want to be with me if you hadn't seen me for a thousand years".

"I think it makes sense" I said "in a thousand years I might still be around and there wouldn't be anything in the way of us being together".

"So what" she then said "you'd just wait ten centuries for me".

I gave the matter some thought before saying.

"The only thing we know for certain is that I'm married to Raven fifty years from now and I have a daughter with her. I might end skipping a few centuries or maybe I'll put myself in stasis one day. I'm immortal I don't know what I'll be like in a thousand years. But unless they need to save the galaxy I can't see why you'd stay in future. Maybe future me has no one".

It would be selfish of future me to keep Kara for himself, but if things worked out with Raven then there would be no place for Kara in my life over the next few decades. I had to think about her needs as well. She might be better off with me in the far future. She wanted to be a wife and mother, and I could give that to her then it would be better to let her go.

"I...I...I" was all Kara could say.

She then went to the window and opened it.

"I need some time to think"

With that she jumped and for a horrible second I forgot she could fly. But when I got to the window I saw her in the distance. She was heading north so I knew exactly where she was going.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002 **

I hadn't left my room for well over an hour by now. I'd been sitting her trying to process everything that had happened to day. After all it's not everyday that your yet unborn daughter pops back in time and wreaks your relationships with your girlfriend. I really hoped that future me would at least scold her for what she'd done.

At about 10.30 pm I heard someone moving about the house and seconds later my bedroom door opened. It was Kara and by the looks of things she was in a better mood. She was also wearing her tightest pair of leather pants, which were always a delight to see. When she took of her jacket I could see that she was wearing her white Supergirl top.

"How are you?" I asked my girlfriend came and lied down next to me.

She didn't answer right away. Instead she moved to rest her head on my chest, and then she moved my arm so that I was holding her.

"I feel better" she said "I had a lot to think about".

"That I guessed" I told her.

Again she was silent for a while, but not for too long.

"My 21st birthday" she finally said "a year from next week"

It sounded like a long time, but it wasn't long enough.

"I've made up my mind. I'm going to stay with you for as long as I can" she said to me "but if I do go then I don't want you to wait for me. Live your life. Marry Raven, have children. Do whatever you want. Just remember that I'm always yours. So you better be there in the future, and you better be single buster. Cause we're going to get married and have children. If you have a thousand years to sort things out then I want a nice big house, a really expensive wedding, a great honeymoon oh and I want at least three children. And a cat. I hate dogs they always growl at me".

What an odd list of demands. I'd half expected her to say 'or else'.

"Yes Ma'am" I said with a grin.

It was an odd way of handling the situation but it was better than her leaving because that would really mess me up.

"Then I'll be totally yours" she told me while running a hand up my chest "and I am now too, so I need to be punished for my bad behaviour".

"You're not the one who destroyed my walls and my bike" I pointed out.

"Yeah well. Blackfire needs a spanking too, but that can wait. I need you more right now, and be the man would you".

"Huh?" I sort of grunted.

"I'm not human you know that" she reminded while giving me an intense look "I didn't grow up like you did and Ace didn't have parents at all she doesn't know how to behave like an adult sometimes. And as for Blackfire well she only cares about you and Ace. No one else matters to her".

I wasn't oblivious to the fact that Fire didn't like Kara that much. But one out of control argument didn't mean she was out to get my girlfriend. Plus I knew for a fact that Komand'r did good work with the League. She'd already saved dozens of lives during disaster relief efforts.

"She did try to hurt me. If I'd been someone else I could have been killed"

That was true. If Kara had been human she would of died, and all I'd done about it was send everyone to bed. Sure it hadn't been an unprovoked attack, but that didn't change the fact that they both could of badly hurt each other, or even done worse.

"Maybe I should ask her to leave" I said mostly to myself.

"No, that's not a good idea" argued my romantic partner "I mean it is up to you, but I think if you told her leave you'd be cutting her off from the two people she loves. That would be cruel and she might end up leaving Earth, then she'd be arrested".

So I could end up putting her on the path to being a villain when she had the chance to be someone more worth while. I couldn't let that happen.

"I'll take charge" I decided "any bad behaviour will be punished".

That seemed to make Kara very happy as she started to passionately kiss me. Thankfully she calmed down before we went too far.

"Someone's in the mood to _zhaol_"

"Z_hi" _my girlfriend said "_jahghah kh__a__p_"

I got the jest of that at least.

"_Kulahn vav_ English"

"You're getting good" Kara praised "and I do want you order me about, but could you suckle on me for a while. You haven't done it for a couple of days and I need it bad".

Who could say no to Supergirl's breasts.

"Strip" I ordered as I gave her the radioactive space rock ring.

She kissed me again before obeying, and when she was naked I got to work on her boobs. I lowered my head and licked each of her nipples, one after the other. I then put a nipple into my mouth and started to gently suck, and after that I sucked harder. She of course loved every second of it. I sucked on them both, switching from one to the other. This caused Kara to gasp with delight and she begged me to squeeze them as well. So of course I did.

Doing this didn't always seem to a sexual thing for Kara, but it surely was now because she took one of my hands and placed it between her legs. She was soaking wet.

"Not yet" I said while switching nipples "you need a spanking first".

"_Sokao kolir kh__a__p__" she said forgetting to speak English._

Thankfully I was getting very good with Kryptonese and while

normally I couldn't refuse, she needed me to be in charge and now she was going to have to obey.

"_Zha_" I said.

She actually whined without using any words a lot like a child. Rather than sound silly it was extremely adorable. As for me I just suckled at her tits, drinking that sweet milk. As I fed from her she started caressing her hair as she often did at times like this. But I could tell that she mostly trying to distract herself from the fact that I had a hand on her hot wet pussy, which meant she couldn't touch herself.

"You're so mean" she accused once I took a break from her super-boobs "I'm so horny, and I still want you drink some more from me".

"Hey you wanted me to be in control" I pointed out "and I want to punish you before letting you cum".

"That just makes me want you more" she complained in a way that told me that she really didn't mind that much.

"Go fetch a hairbrush" I ordered.

Kara ran so fast it almost looked as if she still had super speed, but there was no gust of wing to signal that she was just very enthusiastic.

"Gonna spank me hard?" she asked when she got back "I've been so bad".

"Oh you are so asking for it" I warned.

Rather than reply she threw herself over my lap and then moved her hips a little to make her ass a tempting target. So I took the brush and gave her a few whacks.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

I really didn't do much damage, but that wasn't really the point. I just wanted Kara to feel like she'd been punished.

"You need to spank more tomorrow" my girlfriend said once I was done "that made me feel so good".

"It was suppose to hurt" I told her.

That was kinda the whole reason behind corporal punishment.

"It did a little" she assured me "but it makes me feel like more of girl. I need that".

"That's not all you need" I teased as I started to get undressed.

Z_hi" _my girlfriend said again "_jahghah kh__a__p"_

"You really do like being told what to do" I remarked.

"Only by you" she replied.

"Spread your legs" I instructed.

She did just that and soon I was inside her. As ever she was very warm inside and wet too which made it very enjoyable to fuck her. For once I didn't pound her the way she liked. I took it slow and savoured the intimacy. Well for a while anyway we both needed to cum rather badly by now so I ended up being rather rough anyway, but it made us both happy so there was nothing wrong with that.

(Line Break)

**Wayne Manor – Gotham – November 2052**

"Mum!" Arella called as she teleported into Wayne Manor "what are you doing here?"

Raven had the cowl of her cloak covering her face, but when your a magic user and partly telepathic you never fail to sense a family member. Unless he had some really good mental defences.

"You know why I'm here" said Raven "you altered the past. Your fathers now in Justice League, and he's not suppose to be. You've changed everything".

"Good" Arella said "it's where he should be. Dad belongs with us".

"What you did was very risky. You might of prevented your own birth. I should just go back and erase the memory of your visit" threatened Raven.

"Please don't" Arella pleaded.

"It might not be my choice" Raven reminded "I work for a very powerful goddess and she might be very annoyed by what you've done, so your grounded".

"Mom. I'm twenty-two years old" Arella argued "you can't ground me".

"You're grounded" said another voice.

"But Dad" Shadow Witch complained "I was only trying to..."

"Now" said Gothic "I'll talk to you later, at home".

Arella slumped and then teleported to her bedroom.

"You always good at the discipline stuff" Raven praised as she walked over to her husband.

"Well I've had fifty years of practice" the immortal pointed out "now have you been a good girl".

"Maybe" Raven teased "you should spank me just in case".

"I will" Gothic promised "let's go to bed".

With that Raven teleported them to a different home. Leaving their daughter alone to think about what she'd done.


	14. Chapter 14

**Joe Lawyer**

That is the way it works out as you will see in this chapter. Ace and Blackfire are much happier.

I don't think a member of the Justice League would go to such a class. The press would have a field day.

I like my version of Kara a lot. Makes me sad that I have to get rid of her, so that Raven can be the main romantic partner. But Kara does get her happy ending and she deserves one.

Also I might end up doing a Legion of Superheroes story even if its just a short one. So you may get to read more about her.

**Dark0w1**

Ace isn't going anywhere. In fact as she ascends she's the only one who never really leaves Gothic.

I ended up going with a bike like Lobo's. Which means its both a jet bike and a space ship. Gothic never gets the plasma cannon. Lasers are nearly as good.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Fan Service**

**The Fortress of Solitude – The North Pole – November 2002**

Kal El had many years ago named this place the Fortress of Solitude. He had intended for it to be a place for quiet contemplation and relaxation. A place he could go to in order to recharge the batteries.

As time had past the fortress had become more than that. It had its own zoo which was home to species that existed no where else in the universe. There were other rare things within the fortress. The restored Titanic being the most noticeable.

There was even a large room put aside for weapons. Superman rarely used those weapons, but that didn't mean he'd failed to notice when one of them was missing. Especially if it was a plasma cannon.

"Robot Six!" Superman called out.

From around the corner appeared Robot Six.

"Yes, Kal El?" inquired the machine.

"What happened to the plasma cannon?"

Given that the oversized weapon had been resting on a pedestal, its absence was noticeable and since the robots were meant to maintain the displays they had to know what had happened to the device.

"It was requisitioned by Kara Zor El".

That at least explained why he'd not been alerted by the robots. Kara knew the override codes, and had access to everything in the fortress. Of course that didn't mean she suppose to take things out of the Hall of Weapons.

"Did she say what she wanted it for?" Superman questioned.

Any foe fearsome enough to warrant the use of such a heavy weapon was someone Clark should know about. There were so such threats at the moment but it was possible that Kara had encountered a problem that required a great deal of force to solve.

"She only said that she required the device for a project".

Kal then remembered that his cousin had been trying to upgrade the power armour she'd built for her boyfriend. So she had made use of some of the alien technology stored here in the fortress, but a plasma cannon was a little too much firepower for a suit of powered armour. Which meant she either only need a few parts of the weapon or she was building something else. Something very dangerous.

Using his super hearing Clark was able to locate his cousin easily. She kept a room here and there was a workshop nearby that Kara spent some time tinkering about in. Of course the big clue that led him to her location was the music of Black Sabbat being blasted out a sound system. Not that he'd call it music.

Superman slowly walked into the workshop that Kara had set up near her quarters. He didn't announce his presence as there was no need. Even with all the noise she was making Clark knew that his cousin would of sensed his approach. Which was confirmed when Kara turned a dial and reduced the 'music' to a more reasonable volume.

"Hey, Kal" she greeted as she went back to welding the missing plasma cannon onto the front of what some people might call a jet bike.

To be precise it was a SpazFrag666, which was most well known for being the preferred method of transport for the bounty hunter Lobo. Only it looked as if Kara was customizing the bike, and even improving upon the design. Which was highly illegal as by galactic law no one on Earth was even allowed to own a SpazFrag666, because it was illegal to sell them to anyone who lived on a planet that hadn't achieved faster than light travel.

However Earth didn't recognise galactic law, so there was no reason to worry about space lawyers filing a complaint. Although the police might have a problem what with its twin mounted machine guns.

In fact it was a dangerous thing for anyone to own, and Clark had a horrible feeling that Kara was going to all this effort for herself. There was only one person in all the world that she could be doing this for.

"Working on a birthday present?" Kal asked.

Kara didn't answer until after she'd finished attaching the cannon to the bike, by the looks of things she'd decided that the front mounted laser wasn't enough.

"Yeah" the younger alien said "I'm gonna look so hot on the back of this sweet ride".

Clark prayed for the day his cousin would finish her biker chick phase. Teenage rebellion was healthy, but he really hoped it would end when Kara turned twenty. Thankfully that was only days away now. But if it didn't end any time soon at least he had the comfort of knowing that his cousin was unlikely to get killed in a motorcycle accident. Although at the very least she could stop wearing so much leather.

"How did you buy that?" Superman asked.

"I didn't" Kara replied "I used what was left of Goth's bike and some Thanagarin tech I got from Cyborg. It's not a real SpazFrag666 I just wanted it to look like it could be".

Well that made the whole thing a little less worrying.

"Please tell me that you didn't install an FTL drive" Clark asked.

He'd just realised that Kara could actually build a hyperdrive since she knew exactly how the Javelins reached other solar systems. The physics involved wouldn't be that complex to her.

"Of course not" his cousin said sounding rather shocked "like I'd be stupid enough to let my boyfriend get himself lost in deep space".

Clark breathed out a sigh of relief. However it was premature.

"But it's a shield and an oxgyen recycler so it can go into space. It should be able reach the Moon in about thirty seconds" Kara then said "but going to Mars and back would take hours, so he won't be leaving the solar system on my watch".

Superman frowned but kept his thoughts to himself. Humans has reached both the Moon and Mars without the aid of alien technology, so letting Gothic get out that far wasn't too bad. Besides it could be a lot worse since Kara could also program a Mother Box, and therefore create Boom Tubes. So it wouldn't be to hard for her to build a jetbike that could go anywhere in the galaxy. Compared to that a day trip to Mars was really no big deal.

Of course there was still the issue of the excessive fire power.

"And the plasma cannon?" Superman inquired.

Kara paused in her work, and took a moment to prepare herself for a major argument.

"I'm installing a plasma cannon just in case I'm not around during the next invasion. I don't someone I love getting hurt because they can't fly away from the danger or shoot down a space ship. And don't say he won't need to because the Earth's nearly been destroyed by alien invader twice in the last three years, and its alien protectors can't be everywhere at once. So if something happens to me then my boyfriend will have what needs to be able to look after himself".

Clark opened his mouth and then shut it again before finally finding the words he needed.

"Giving people advanced weapons isn't the answer" Kal said "they could hurt themselves just as easily".

"They don't need advanced weapons to do that" counter Kara "they already have nuclear bombs".

"That's true" started the Man of Steel "but..."

"If you don't trust him then why is in the Justice League?" Supergirl suddenly asked.

"Wait" Clark said "What makes you think I don't trust everyone who is in the League?"

"We both know that this isn't about giving a human being some alien technology, because you helped build the Javelins, and they have more firepower than this bike, so it's not about what I'm building it's really about the fact that you don't trust my boyfriend".

"I...he's...unstable" Superman said with a sigh "I trust that he wouldn't hurt you, but I don't trust him not to kill someone who did hurt you".

Clark did not think the immortal was psychotic, it was just that Gothic had killed people and he might do it again. And Clark wasn't completely sure he'd want stop Gothic from killing anyone who hurt Kara.

"So why is he in the Justice League?" Kara asked again "I know you're not telling me something. Which means you don't trust me either".

That was painful to hear, but it was also true. So Clark decided to tell his cousin something she would never be able to tell her partner.

"Do you remember when Toyman sent me to the future?" he began.

"Yeah" said Kara "well I remember the funeral, and then you came back. You got transported to the future, but you found a way home".

"Actually I didn't" Kal informed her "Gothic sent me back".

If it had been possible Kara's jaw would of hit the floor.

"Tell me everything" she demanded.

"Will you take off the plasma cannon?" Superman asked.

Clark didn't like himself for saying that, but it might be worth a little guilt now to save lives later.

"Well I guess he can protect himself with lasers just as well" Supergirl decided.

That was enough of a compromise for now. So Clark told his cousin everything that had happened during his visit to the very distant future.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002 **

"Die, die, die!" Blackfire screamed as she kept pressing the button that caused an awesome weapon of destruction to open fire upon her target.

"I can't believe that you killed me" I complained as the words 'Game Over' flashed across the screen "I'm an expert marksmen and I can't even out shoot you when I'm playing a video game.

It wasn't even a good video game. The graphics were awful.

"Awww" mocked Blackfire "did I emasculate you".

"Not physically thankfully" I said with a slight shudder "that would really hurt".

There were things even an immortal should fear.

"I thought that was castration" remarked Ace as she played with her new laptop "I'm sure I looked that up".

Sometimes I wondered if letting a sixteen year old girl surf the internet unsupervised was such a good thing. I had no desire to stop her from reading what she chose to read, but even in 2002 the internet was full of smut and much worse things. Who knew where she'd picked up that word from. Then again I could always remove her net privileges if she did something bad. Would be a lot easier than having to punish in other ways.

"It can mean that too, but I meant it in the context of being made to feel less of a man emotionally rather than via mutilation" I explained.

"Oh I'd never do that" assured the alien princess "I'm hoping to get to play with it. After Kara leaves of course".

My girlfriend had decided that she should tell Blackfire and Ace about the fact that she was due to disappear into the future. Which was her right, as it was her life, and it my view it was a good thing because now they wouldn't be taken totally by surprise when it did happen.

She didn't want anyone else to know as she worried that someone might try to prevent it from happening. Like say her overprotective and extremely powerful cousin. It would be bad if he did because it would radically change the future.

What my daughter had done was bad enough, but she'd only changed fifty years of history. Changing more than a thousand years of history, by keeping Kara in the present, could be far more dangerous.

"You're forgetting about Raven" I said my friend "if Arella didn't change too much about the future then Ray will be my wife. Which means we will get back together".

Which seemed likely otherwise Arella would have erased herself from history, and since I still remembered her, and Kara had met her before, it seemed that her existence was assured. Then again with time travel things were rarely simply, however the universe wasn't ending due to some massive paradox so I remained hopeful.

I couldn't even hate Ray for leaving me, because if she didn't learn to control her emotions then it would never be safe for us to have a child. She might of lashed out at her own baby if the stress of being a mother ever got too much.

"And I don't think she'll still be in Tibet a year from now" I then added.

Not that I knew any of that for certain, but since I knew that time didn't pass at the same rate within Nanda Parbat, so it was possible that Raven didn't know that she been gone so long. For her it might of only been a few days. Also given how remote the place was it also made sense that she hadn't sent me an email or just called me. They had no phone lines in Nanda Parbat.

"I'm sure I can tempt her into a threesome" said Blackfire "even if it's just a one time deal".

Maybe, but she might be wrong Raven had even worse jealously issues than Kara. Although my fully alien girlfriend had at least eased up on that issue of late. Ray however, well she had put a whole in the roof of the lobby upon meeting Supergirl. So Blackfire's only hope was that Raven really did solve her issues and come back as more controlled person or Ray would end up trapping the alien princess in an alternate dimension.

"You could just get a boyfriend" I pointed out "you're an alien princess any guy would be very lucky to have you as a partner. I know I would be".

Plus she took a spanking really well, and had a butt that you couldn't help staring at. I knew this because I kept sneaking a glance. Fire was wearing one of my t-shirts, and it kept riding up as she was lying on her stomach.

I hadn't beaten her, but I hadn't gone easy on her either due to the fact that she attacked Kara with lethal force, so she had some odd coloured bruises on her backside. Not that she seemed to mind, if anything she was happier than normal. I guessed that was because she didn't feel so guilty for destroying my beloved bike now.

"You're just flattering me so I'll go easy on you when we play again, but that's never going to happen so you can keeping killing Ace for a while. I want to read some of your fan mail".

Upon hearing that the telepathic meta-human swapped places with the alien princess. Which meant the t-shirt she was wearing, which was also one of mine, rode up as she got comfortable. She at least was wearing knickers and they actually covered her ass. Ace seemed to figured out that I was going to put with her making me uncomfortable any more. I didn't mind her showing off her body a little as she was cute, and she seemed more confidant now as well. Which made me realise that I should have been more strict with her right from the start. I'd made the mistake of trying to give her the affection she'd never had, but she also needed a little tough love as well.

"Come on kill me" requested Ace "or I'll be forced to kill you".

"I think our lives are a little too violent" I commented as the game loaded up "we really shouldn't enjoy pretending to kill each other this much".

And all the sexual stuff was a bit much as well.

"It's not our fault" Blackfire argued "we can't even go shopping for Christmas presents without freaks coming after us".

True, and the fact that Bane had come after us was my fault as I was the one he'd been after. Plus it had been my idea to get the presents now in order to avoid doing so after Thanksgiving as I'd heard horror stories about shopping in malls during December. Then there was the fact thatlast year the damn Pigeons had totally ruined Xmas, so if something else happened this holiday season then at least the people I cared about would at least get a gift from me.

"Violence is part our lives" said Ace she blew my video game character apart with a rocket launcher "along with sex, nudity and swearing".

Yeah she was spending way to much time on the net. It was making her too insightful for my liking. Sixteen year old girls should be mooning over pop stars not reading what it was she was reading.

"Die you fucker!" I then shouted as I killed Ace's electronic avatar "just fucking die!".

"Case in point" my hopeful sidekick said.

"Okay point taken" I replied "I really shouldn't judge".

I was the worst of them all.

"How many fans do you have?" Blackfire suddenly asked "and why do send you underwear?"

Ace and I both turned our heads to see that our friend had opened one of the boxes of fan mail, and that she had also started reading a few letters. She also had something lacy in one of her hands.

"I have no idea" I told her.

There was also the fact that I didn't want to know. It was a little scary. I had the horrible idea that some of the letters would contain a body part or even a note threatening suicide of I didn't do something an insane girl wanted me to do.

"I do" Ace said "it's an idea someone on the fan boards put up. A girl called Darkbird01 said that she wanted to get your attention, so someone else said that she should wear sexy underwear and then send it to you".

Darkbird01, she just had be a Raven emo wannabe. Or possible Talia al Ghul as she'd done that. Would explain how she knew I liked swords so much. My League of Assassins sword only stayed in the closet because I had a Nth metal blade that was vastly superior to anything Earth made.

"What fan site is this?" I inquired "cause the Teen Titan's fan page is pretty innocent".

It was pretty basic as well. Sure there was a forum, but I'd never seen anything like that on it.

"Emo and Goth" Ace explained "it's dedicated to love between you and Raven. They really don't like Supergirl at all".

I would of thought the leather pants would have made most boys drool over their keyboards. So it had to be a site for girls.

"And they send pictures to" commented Blackfire "nothing you'd be against but some of them pass the parcel a bit".

"Push the envelope" I corrected "pass the parcel is a game kids play at parties".

"Guess I haven't kissed enough people" Fire said idly.

That made no sense until I remembered that for Tamarans kissing was a way to transfer knowledge of languages rather than something done to show affection. Also the remark explained why Blackfire didn't mix up her words like her siblings did. The more English speaking people she kissed the better she would get with the language.

"It's not fair" Ace complained even as she killed me again "how come aliens always get the really cool powers, but humans don't. Nothing happens weird happens when I kiss people".

Clearly she didn't understand that kissing was meant to a pleasant thing, and not something that led to knowledge transfers.

"You're a meta-human" I pointed out "you have super powers".

Powers that were going to end up killing her. Which was something I should tell her about one day.

"Humans are actually really cool" Komand'r then said "You have so many hair colours, and skin colours too. It's very exotic"

That was a very positive way of looking at the differences between the many races of man.

"And you have much better taste buds than I do. That's why I put mustard on my food and like spicy stuff so much. Most foods are really bland for me, but you enjoy it and can eat things I wouldn't even put in my mouth. I can't enjoy the different kinds of foods you get to. And I have to eat more than you and that's with the energy I get from the sun".

"You're solar powered?" I asked.

I had not known that.

"Not like Kara is" Blackfire explained "It just helps fuel me, otherwise I never be able to fly. Even if I don't use my powers I still need to eat a lot just to stay alive. That's why I never have breakfast with you. I feel like a pig. Well that and we don't have table manners on my world. Humans are much nicer eaters that's for sure".

That explained a lot. I'd seen Starfire eat foods that tasted horrible because of their overpowering flavour, but for her they would of tasted quite normal, and she had always eaten like she been for days at a time starved. Yet she was really skinny as well.

"It wasn't always so bad" she went on to say "before Tamaran was devastated we had these special fruits that were really filling and full of calories, but that's all gone now".

Hearing that made me want to go and hug her, but Ace beat me to it. So I took the chance to kill her character.

"That's cheating" the telepathic teen complained.

"I always cheat in a fight" I reminded her while giving her a cheeky smile "You never play fair when its life and death. Have you learned nothing form me?".

She might have said something about that, but Kara suddenly came running in looking very upset.

"What's the matter?" I questioned as my girlfriend latched onto me.

"I can't tell you" she said "I just came back here to say _Kh__a__p zhao rr__u__p_".

"I love you too" I told her "I mean _Kh__ah__p zhao rr__i__p, zrhueiao_"

"And you always will" Kara said as she started to cry.

"Is the world going to end? Because she sounds like she knows you're about to die and that there's nothing she can do about it" remarked Ace.

"You are getting dark, woman" I said to the teen girl "that's really morbid".

"He's not going to die. That's the problem" Kara told Ace.

I guessed that the immortality thing had sunk in. She must of realised that if I was still around in a thousand years time then it meant I might keep going for much longer.

"Hey it's okay" I said trying to sound comforting "I'm sure I'll die one day. Then you hug me in the afterlife for the rest of time".

That did not reassure her. Although why I'd thought it would escaped even me. However she did start to calm down.

"Let's go and..." Kara looked around the room and then said "_zhaol"._

"I don't think you're in the right mood" I argued.

Those weren't exactly tears of joy.

"_Sokao_ _zhaol vot __kh__a__p"_ she then requested.

Her tone voice made it sound like I was doing her favour. Which was odd because if anything I thought I was too demanding when it came to how much sex we had. Not that she ever complained, but she didn't need half as much sleep as I did

"I'm not in the mood either. _Z__halish kh__ah__p_" I apologised

Crying women were not a turn on for me. Which was odd given my love of spanking.

"I really need you right now" she said, switching back to English.

Well I wanted to be stricter with her, but this seemed very important and she really did seem to desire intimacy right now. It seemed to cruel to refuse her so I tried to make sure it was okay.

"_Nahn rrip..._"

Rather than let me finish that question Kara got up and was taking her clothes before she'd even left the room.

"You should go" Ace said to me as my romantic partner vanished from sight "I can sense how she's feeling, she really needs you to... spend time with her right now".

Well was she was empathic one around here.

"Okay" I said before chasing after my girlfriend.

It wasn't as if I could have resisted for much longer.

Author Note.

Next chapter is Kara's last appearance in this story. You're all going to hate me like I hate George R.R.R Martian for killing Ned Stark.

Also have you ever noticed that any character Sean Bean plays seems to die. He died in Game of Thrones. He died in Goldeneye and in Equilibrium. He died in Lord of the Rings. Even in _The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion the character he voices dies at the end of the main quest. _

He did alright as _Sharpe_ but the rest of the time you just don't want to get attached to anyone he plays.

Oh and if you were wondering Kara now knows that Gothic's going to out live her even with her skipping a thousand years. She can't even tell him that because he might be tempted to get himself killed if he knew just long he's going to be around.


	15. Chapter 15

This chapter is short, but it's meant to be like the chapter Interviews in the Teen Titan story. It's not meant to be take too seriously either.

**Reviews**

**Guest.**

Well Supergirl will be back in Legion of Superheroes. I have some good ideas for that story. Gothic and Kara have adventures in space as a married couple. Sort of freelance heroes who sometimes work with characters from the Legion sometimes, but most of the time they are out exploring the fringes of known space. Maybe even a totally different galaxy.

I've never seen National Treasure so I didn't even know he was in it.

**Dark0w1**

Clemence Poesy, now there is a beautiful woman,

DC Gothic will go for a Lobo vibe later on. Spikes and chains. Loud music. Half naked girl on the back of the bike. That sort of thing.

I have no idea how much a Harley-Davidson Sportster cost.

**Joe Lawyer**

Why bother using magic at all. If he dresses differently and puts on some glasses no one will recognise him. It actually works as people do judge you by your appearance. Which is why people never figure out that Clark Kent is Superman. It's also true that changing your appearance in small ways can be more effective than a proper disguise. Glasses are good for that as they change the way your eyes look. I wear glasses so I know this. I've taken them off and people have failed to recognise me.

Raven will be cool with the harem idea. In fact its her idea. But Gothic doesn't know that yet. He still remembers her as the women who fought Supergirl because she was jealous.

The not killing people thing is something we've discussed before. Let's not go over it again.

I always assumed there were good reasons why Starfire acted the way she did, so I made my own reasons.

I never saw the Percy Jackson films. Are they any good?

Well there's no reason why Kara can't obtain immortality in the future. Magic might not be the answer because mystical forces are a weakness for her. Also she might not want to be immortal because she wants children and no one wants to out live their children. On the other hand if it was something done to her against her will, then she might not want to undo it so that Gothic doesn't have to lose her. I'll have to think about it.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Further Fan Service **

**Convention Centre – Jump City – 2002 **

"The things we do for the fans" I muttered.

I couldn't tell how many people there were in the convention centre, but given that they had run out of seats I was willing to go out on a limb and say it was a lot of people.

"That's a lot of people" I said to Ace and Blackfire.

The two of them just smirked at me. They didn't have to go out there and face the mob. Lucky gits.

"You'll be fine" Kara tried to assure me "Just smile and answer the questions".

"They only asked for me because none of the original Titans were available" I pointed out.

I didn't even consider myself to be one of the real Teen Titans, but I had been on the team and I was the only one the people who ran this convention had been able to contact. Apparently Beast Boy had been booked for this event however he cancelled due to the fact that Terra had turned up out of the blue. As for the others. Cyborg was busy with his tech support work for the League. Robin was retired. Raven was in Tibet. And Starfire was about thirty light years away. So that left me.

"Should I make a dramatic entrance?" I asked of my girlfriend.

"You could fly onto the stage" she suggested "it always works for me".

Well I was wearing the right belt for once. Only in this case I had worn it in order to escape an event rather than to get to one quickly.

"It's just a Q &amp; A panel" Kara then said "it's easy. You give a quick demo of your powers: like say by flying onto the stage. Then you answer a few questions. And after that you sign a load of autographs".

"But there's hundreds of people out there" I told her "it could take hours".

"It's for charity" she reminded "this happens every November. I'm doing five different events, so you can handle two. Now go out there and be nice. That means no swearing and try to give good advice".

"Wait so not only do I have to answer personal questions I also have to be polite to people and act like I care about their problems?" I asked.

"That's what being a hero means" Kara replied.

"Not it my universe it doesn't" I protested "in my universe heroes slay monsters, overthrow dark lords and get to kiss princesses".

"You can kiss me" offered Blackfire "I am still a princess".

Wisely I ignored that, not that I had time to kiss anyone as someone was now talking over the speakers. So I headed up onto the cat walk above the stage and when my name was loudly shouted I dropped down. I slowed my fall and landed right in front of the audience.

Given that they all cheered it was safe to assume that my entrance had been cool looking. I could have shown off further by creating fire, but I didn't want to push my luck. The last thing I wanted was to set the sprinklers off. That would totally ruin the event.

The announcer had to wait for the applause to die down before he spoke again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you all have questions you want to ask, but we don't have time for all of them. So to ensure that as many as possible are answered with in the next hour I ask you all to keep you questions short as possible".

That was good to hear as answering every single question would of kept me here until gone midnight.

"Let's start with number 27".

It was then I noticed that most of the audience was made up of teenage girls who were all goth and emo types. That was odd because Beastie Boy was suppose to have been here. However I could see more mainstream people in the back so I suspected that seats had been given to the kind of fans who liked Raven and I, as that would explain all the purple hair and leather jackets.

The girl who stood up took a moment to ask her question, and it was a rather silly thing to ask.

"Boxers or briefs?"

That made everyone chuckle, and I felt myself relax.

"Boxers" I answered "the ones I'm wearing are dark blue, if anyone was wondering".

That made everyone chuckle again. The girl who'd asked started talking to her friends as she sat down. I guessed that she been dared to ask that question and that she'd impressed her peers by doing so.

"Number 9!" the announcer called out.

A girl in stripy tights got up and said.

"Did something bad happen to Robin?"

Now that I could see her more clearly she did seem to be more a Deadly Ballerina fan than anything else.

"He's just retired" I told the girl "he's fine I promise".

"Number 42".

I wondered if the boy standing up was suppose to dressed up like me or not, because I'd never made safety pins part of my look.

"Can you really do magic spells?" he asked.

"Yes" was my simple answer.

"Prove it" said the young man.

That wasn't a question. It was a challenge. So I quickly thought of a spell I could show off with.

"I'll need you to come on stage with a friend" I told the lad.

He and a kid, who really was dressed like me, came up and I directed them to stand on different sides of the small stage.

"_K'yarnak nw uaaa_h" I said

The two boys were magically teleported so that they exchanged places. I'd been working on a teleporting spell for a while now and what I'd been able to create so far was an incantation that caused two objects, or people, to swap their locations. Not much good for teleporting around, but it was a very cool party trick and it went down well with the people in the crowd.

"Number 5" said the unseen broadcaster.

"Feels alive" I whispered so softly that no one heard.

"Do you have any weaknesses?" a shy looking girl asked.

She reminded me of Ace, what with the hair, so I wanted to give her an answer. However I didn't have a real weaknesses, like say Kara did and if I had I would never tell anyone that I did.

"Pretty ladies" I said to the young woman, while giving her a wink.

That seemed to have the effect I wanted. Another round of chuckles went around the large room. And it was kind of true as well.

"Number 37" was chosen next.

"As a child, what was your dream job?" an adult at the back asked.

I focused on who had spoken and to my surprise it was Clark Kent.

"I'm asking on behalf of the Daily Planet's readers" the disguised Superman explained.

What was he doing on a piece on me? Kara should of warned me about such a thing.

"I always wanted to captain a star ship" I answered, being totally honest "I was a major geek as a child so that was my dream job".

Apparently lots of people thought that was cute. I thought it was dorky.

"Number 51".

When Lois Lane stood up I knew then that the universe had a sense of humour.

"What are you hoping to accomplish over the next few years?" the brilliant reporter asked of me "and this is also for the Daily Planet".

Given that that the newspaper had it's headquarters on the other side of the country, it seemed very strange that they were here. Kara must not of know so perhaps they were in town to see her and it was suppose to be a surprise. It was her birthday tomorrow so that theory made sense.

"Tough question" I admitted "I don't really know what I want to do. Well no I mean there are things I want to do, but I don't know how to accomplish them just yet. I guess I'm still figuring things out".

She asked tough questions. I could see why she was so respected by other reporters.

Another number was called out and the question was.

"Whose your favourite member of the League?"

"Supergirl" I answered.

Like I was going to say anything else.

"What's the source of your power" a guy I couldn't quite see asked.

"I don't really have one" I replied "I'm not powered by anything".

"Is it true you can sing?" asked another emo girl.

"I can" I told her "and I can play the guitar".

By now I tuning out the announcer, and I was trying to answer as many questions as I could before the time ran out.

"Do you see yourself as a good role model?" another reporter asked.

At this point I could only assume that the journalists had been here for Beast Boy, which made sense as he had been a member of the Doom Patrol before joining the Titans, and now he was in League. The idea that they could be here for me, well that made me feel a little dizzy.

"I've never seen myself as any sort of role model" I said.

That was all I wanted to say on that issue.

"What kind of ice cream do you like?" a small child asked.

"Mint chocolate chip" I told him.

This went on for a while, and thankfully the hard questions had already been answered. The remaining ones I did answer were all harmless. So soon enough I was at table signing autographs.

While I did this I spotted my girlfriend (who was dressed as Kara Kent, complete with dorky glasses) talking with her cousin, and they kept looking over to towards me.

"_Goka og lloig uaaad_" I muttered while looking at Kara.

All I got from her was pride, from Lois and Clark I felt approval. It seemed that they were happy with my performance. Now that I thought about it I was rather chuffed as well. I hadn't humiliated myself, and I seemed to have a lot more fans than I had ever imagined.

So all in all this hadn't been the nightmare I'd thought it would be.

Author Notes

"K'yarnak nw uaaah" (Exchange Place Spell)

Causes two objects or people to switch places. Only works over short distances.

"Goka og lloig uaaad" (Grant Empathic Mind Spell)

Gives the caster empathic powers for a short time.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author Note**

After this chapter is the short story The Balance. Which means the next chapter will be set after that story. If you haven't read it then now is the time.

FYI I did try to write a good send off for Kara, but I hated what I wrote and I couldn't fix it, so I decided to have Gothic miss the whole thing due to Stargirl as she's the one person who would be happy that she was gone.

I have a rough draft of the chapter if anyone would like to try and write it. Having a guest written chapter would be very cool I think.

**Reviews**

DarkAvenger001

I've used the colt before so I'll give it a pass for now. I might revisit the idea in the next DC Gothic book as Raven will be around so Gothic might need something that kill monsters. His Nth metal sword can handle mystical creatures easily enough for now.

Joe Lawyer

I don't think I'll bother then. I put up with enough kids films when I babysit my neice. She's really gotten into Scooby Doo recently for some reason and I'm very glad because I don't think I could have sat through the Ice Age films again.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Missed **

**Mess Hall – The Watchtower – November 2002**

I'd just entered the Mess Hall to met Shayera for coffee, like we did every week, when someone called out.

"Gothic with me, now!"

The next thing I knew someone had grabbed my collar and I was being pulled along a hallway, by a blonde women who wasn't Kara, and since she wasn't my girlfriend she had no right to tell me to do anything or drag me off to God only knows where.

"What?" was all I managed to say.

I was rather surprised to see that it was Stargirl who had decided to drag me away from my coffee break.

"Come on, J'onn won't let me go on the mission until we get another member to help is" Courtney said as she let go off me "We need three people and you're volunteering "

Apparently the volunteering had a different meaning to Stargirl than it did to everyone else in the universe.

"What mission?" I asked in confusion.

"Reaper and a bunch of other crooks just robbed a gold exchange in Freedom City. Now come on!"

With that she grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the teleporter where a man in the battle suit was waiting. He had to be S.T.R.I.P.E, we'd never met, but you couldn't mistake him for anybody else.

"Gothic to Shayera" I said, using the comm device to my ear "I've got an emergency to handle, so I need a rain check on that coffee. If you see my honey tell her I'll be back as soon as I can"

There was no point calling Kara directly as she was in the training room with her cousin. I didn't want to distract her as she didn't get to spend much time with her only living family. Plus she might want to come along, and that would be bad since she and Stargirl did not always get along.

After getting a quick confirmation I tapped my communicator to close the channel and hurriedly got on the teleporter with the others, Stargirl was looking very impatient, she was even tapping her foot while frowning at me, it was rather adorable.

"Beam us down, Scotty" I said to the tech.

With a flash of light we were gone.

(Line Break)

**Streets – Freedom City- November 2002 **

The street we arrived on was swarming with cops, there were blue and red lights flashing everywhere and the sirens made it hard to hear anything. The door to the gold exchange was a flaming ruin, so with a wave of my hand I snuffed out the fire.

"They were holed up inside, but managed to get through our net, they left the hostages behind and somehow got into the sewer," explained the sergeant in charge.

That was good news as fighting the crooks while they had hostages could result in the deaths of innocennt people.

"Alright, we're going in after them," ordered Stargirl, already advancing toward the nearest manhole cover

Well she hadn't mellowed out much since I'd last seen her. She was still rushing off into danger. I had thought she'd might have learned not to be so reckless after Toyman's robots but it seemed that she hadn't taken that lesson to heart after all.

"Is that even the right direction" I asked one of the cops.

"Nah you want the manhole on the other side of the street" the law enforcement officer answered.

"Thanks" I said

Stargirl heard that and raced off towards to the other sewer entrance. She blasted her down rather than simply lift up the cover, and then she was racing off again.

Not wanting her to get too far ahead, and possibly get herself killed, I chased after her. I dropped into the sewer with a splash, I was so glad that I wore big sturdy boots. STRIPE landed behind me, the heavy metal suit sounding like it might have cracked the ground when it hit the concrete that made up this tunnel.

Ahead I could Stargirl hovering above the raw sewage.

"Ugh, I thought sewers were cleaner than this" Courtney "and they smell way bad"

Judging by the smell I suspected that this tunnel hadn't been washed clean by rainwater any time recently.

"I'm just glad the suit has air filters," STRIPE added as he stomped forward, while using in built lights to illuminate the tunnel.

"So any idea about how to track them?" I asked of the two people with me.

"My sensors can pick up thermal residue" assured S.T.R.I.P.E "we can just follow their heat trail".

In real life that might not work, but this was a comic book universe so I just accepted it.

"Alright then, off we go" declared Stargirl.

"Why are you in charge?" I asked "I'm not saying I should be, but you're not a team leader".

S.T.R.I.P.E actually was, but he seemed to be following his stepdaughters led.

"Cause I'm the birthday girl" she explained "and unlike Miss Perfect I know that whole world doesn't stop just because she's turning twenty. There having a surprise party for her and everything".

It didn't take Sherlock Homes to figure out who she was talking about.

"Wait hold on" I said "why don't I know about this party. I'm her boyfriend. I should know these things".

I was also pretty sure that boyfriends were actually met to help organise such things.

"Superman told us not to tell you" S.T.R.I.P.E explained "Supergirl knows he's planning something, and so Supes didn't want you giving the game away".

Normally I'd be offended by the lack of trust, but on the other hand if I had known and had Kara suspected that I knew, she would have made me tell her by using her boobs.

"Come on let's get moving" Stargirl said.

(Line Break)

** Unused Factory – Freedom City- November 2002**

The trail led us through the sewers, the water was getting gradually deeper as we travelled Finally we came to a stop at the bottom of a staircase. The steps went up into what had to be a basement of some sort.

"Any idea where we are?" I asked.

"My sensors say somewhere in the old industrial distract, we should be directly below an old steel mill" S.T.R.I.P.E told me "assuming my maps are up to date".

"Abandoned factories" I said with a sigh "I hate abandoned factories".

"I know what you mean," Stargirl agreed, "Bad guys never have any taste. I never end up fighting in a penthouse apartment, or a nice spa".

"Hey, I said I was sorry" the man in mech suit said "they were all booked up and I can't afford to pay full price".

Clearly they were about to rehash an old argument.

"How about I pay for a spa treatment" I offered "I can afford it. You can consider it a late birthday present".

That seemed to settle the argument.

"I make the entrance, you follow up while they're distracted, just like in Chicago" S.T.R.I.P.E then said to his stepdaughter

The two readied themselves for the fight, STRIPE's armor folding away from weapon ports while Stargirl's staff began to glow.

"Um, guys, what about me?" I asked "should I wait here?"

The father/daughter team turned to look at me, then at each other.

"Sorry, not used to working with others, but I wanted the backup, cause the reports said Reaper wasn't alone, he has a pretty large group of thugs. So standard entrance for us. I blow the door and draw attention; Star follows in and takes out the goons as fast as possible. Then we move onto the heavy hitters, they're easier to take down without their backup. So I want you to help Courtney" said S.T.R.I.P.E

"Got it?" Stargirl asked.

"Nearly" I answered "whose Reaper?"

"He's a psychopath with a scythe" S.T.R.I.P.E "he can create fire as well. That's why we wanted your help".

Made sense I could put out fires, and I could control fire as well. Plus I couldn't die. That made me perfect for taking on a murderer who liked to used flame attacks.

"Okay I'm ready" I told the Whitmores.

"Good. Three, two, one, go!"

STRIPE blasted the roof into dust and shot up through it, Stargirl following in his wake. I ran up the stairs after them.

The smashed concrete was thick in the air, making it hard to see due to all the dust but I could just about make out the glow of Stargirl's staff so I followed the light.

Then a dark shape stumbled forward me, holding something that looked like crowbar, he swung but I ducked. I then knocked the man unconscious via a good blow to the head.

A gun then went off and another man was suddenly near me. He was coughing because of all the dust. He was so distracted that he went down easy. I didn't even have to dodge a blow.

Then bullets filled the air as the remaining thugs opened fire. I ducked and rolled behind scrap metal.

"Take them out you idiots!" a voice I didn't know called out.

Poking my head out of cover I saw Stargirl blast another thug, while STRIPE took down the last of the hired goons with an electrical discharge.

"Give up, you're going down!" shouted Stargirl as the super villains made their appearance.

Just as I started to try and flank the remaining crooks Stargirl was blasted from the air by a purple beam of energy, which sent here careening into a pile of empty crates. She started to get at once, so I didn't worry about instead I focused on the person who had hurt her. At once I knew who it was that had fired that blast. It was Star Sapphire, a woman who had a jewel that gave her similar powers to that of a Green Lantern.

Knowing that I needed to take her down fast, I took out my collapsible staff and a dart. My plan was send the sedative tipped projectile at the women. I sent the dart at Star Sapphire, and it hit her. She called it suprise and I sought out my next target.

Then while I was looking for my next target I saw S.T.R.I.P.E as he was batted side by Giganta, she wasn't big right now, what with us all being indoors, but she was mighty enough to send a guy in a mech suit flying.

However before I could anything about her. Someone I couldn't see sent a fireball right at me, and I staggered, but was otherwise unharmed. I seemed to be in not fire proof then at least very resistant to flames. However that didn't mean I was just going to stand around and let people send attacks at me.

I dodged the next fireball and began to close the distance, trying to get within range for a strike with my staff. One good blow and this Reaper would be down for the count.

As I moved I saw out of the corner of my eye Stargirl as she starteed dodging the clumsy strikes of the giant and evil woman.

Meanwhile yet another fireball had been sent my way by the figure at the back of the factory. Again I easily dodged the assault.

"To slow" I said to Reaper as we came face to face.

As you might expect from someone called Reaper the villain wore a skull mask to cover his face and had dressed himself in a black cloak that over some sort of body armour. He also had a scythe.

To counter that weapon I brought my Nth metal sword into play and let my staff collapse so it fitted into the pocket of my coat.

However rather than attack me with scythe I ended up dodging a fire wreathed punch. Which freaked me out because that was sometimes how I utilised the powers I'd gotten from Trigon.

"I'll kill you for what you helped to do!" screamed Reaper.

"Err what" was all I had to say to that.

The guy was clearly nutso.

Reaper lashed out with his weapon, and I met his curved blade with my sword. I'd not gone up against a scythe before and this guy knew how to use it. However while he was strong and somewhat agile, he had no real fighting skill at all. His moves were predictable enough that I was able to anticipate his strikes.

When the time was right I forced Reaper's weapon aside and I started beating him up. The crook's head snapped as I gave him a hard left hook punch to the face.

"You ready to give up yet?" I asked my foe

Reaper shook his head slightly as if to clear it

"No" the villian said.

Somehow the skull masked formed into a grin before his jaw opened wide. He reminded of a certain Mortal Kombat character, and I guesses what he was about to do.

Since I'd know it was coming I was able to dodge the stream of fire.

"You're so going down!" shouted Reaper

As fires ignited over his hands the bad guy stalked forward, and I prepared to met him as I covered my own hands with flames.

That was when Stargirl shouted out that she needed help, so I decided to be very unsporting. I kicked Reaper in the nuts, and he dropped to the ground.

"I've never seen you before" a female voice then said.

I spun around and looked up and then up some more. Giganta stood towering over me. Her outfit was slightly torn and hair was a bit mussed up. But other than she looked healthy enough, which meant no one else had been able to lay any hurt on her.

"Now you'll go squish easier then the other two. There's tin suit to protect you and you can't fly either".

Rather than answer I flipped backward just as Giganta's fist came down. She hit so hard that ground cracked. Which was impressive give that it was a cement surface.

"Hold still!" the huge woman commanded in a rather childish way.

"Sorry, no can do" I replied

This time the massive lady tried to stamp on me, but that had been her mistake. I saw the move coming well in advance and I had all the time I needed to take out my staff and to turn it into a spear. When she tried to squash me like a bug she found out that I had a sting.

"Ouch" the Giganta called out, as she started to hop about on onr foot. "What the hell did you do that for? You heroes aren't supposed to hit girls".

That was when she hit her head on the roof and fell the ground so hard it shook.

"I would never hit a woman" I protested "you hurt yourself by trying to step on someone who was holding a spear. It's own fault young lady".

She seemed to responed to the tone of my voice which made me wonder how much a big kid she was.

"Now unless you want me to burn you're hair off" I said as I brought forth some fire "I suggest you..."

I didn't even have to finish the threat. I'd correctly guessed that she took pride in her looks.

"Alright, just don't burn my hair, it finally got long enough to style properly".

With that she started to shrink, returning to a size more normal for a human. Then I realised that I had nothing to tie her up with. I so needed to start carrying enchanted handcuffs or maybe even a nice chain.

"Just go stand by the wall until we're finished" I ordered "if you run I'll track you down and make you bald".

Amazingly it worked, she even sulked a little as she did as she was told.

Looking around I saw S.T.R.I.P.E and Reaper duking it out, blasts of fire and energy filled the air around them as they fought. The bad guy got the upper hand and in a display of amazing strength he managed to pick up S.T.R.I.P.E and throw him into some scrap metal.

Then when Reaper noticed the fact his two female partners were down he said

"I'll burn you all to ash!"

Soon enough dark coloured flames were encasing Reaper's body. Everything around him began to melt or they started to burn.

Using my power over fire I tried to snuff out the fire, but it didn't seem to matter. The flames were spreading wider, crates combusting in the heat. The only hope of stopping was for me to take him down hard.

"RUN!" I shouted out as loudly as possible.

I then ran into the fire, and I hit Reaper on to the top of his head with enough force to drive the crook to the ground. At once the fire began to dissipate, and I was able to put them out thanks to my own control over fire. It was then that I realised that I was on fire, but thankfully I was unharmed and I was able to put out that fire as well.

Both Stargirl and Star Sapphire let out wolf whistles, as the smoke cleared.

"What?" I asked

That was when I noticed that my t-shirt had burned away. Thankfully my jeans had proven to be a little more fortunate, but they were runined and my belt had melted enough to render it useless. Hopefully I could get a new one from Batman. At least my boots were okay.

"If I known that there were guys like you around, I might not have tried to kill off all the men in the world" Star Sapphire said.

She was referring to the time she had ended up on a team with a rogue Amazon that wanted to kill all men with a disease. Anyone who had been a willing part of that plan had to be an idoit as well as crazy

"Well gee golly Mam, it makes me so happy that I restored your faith in my gender"

The sarcasm did not have the desired effect.

"Oh no, I still have no love for men, but it would have been such a shame to miss this view"

I just had to sigh.

(Line Break)

**Factory – Freedom City- November 2002**

"You know, we made a pretty good team," said Stargirl, as she leaned in to rest her head on my still bare shoulder "it was just like old times".

Yes it had been. She been reckless and I'd had to do most of the work.

"Sure was" I agreed.

I watched as the thugs and three super villains were being taken away by the police in special vans designed to hold meta humans.

"We'll have to do this again some time" she then said "I like it when you lose your shirt".

I recalled that the last time she'd seen me topless that the t-shirt had gone missing. I had to wonder what Blackfire had done with it. Hopefully nothing creepy.

"I mean, we took down three dangerous super villain , and recovered everything they took. We did good here"

"That we did" I agreed.

"We so have to do this again sometime." Stargirl said while beaming a smile at me "I know that you like hot blondes"

S.T.R.I.P.E's face could not be seen, but somehow I just knew he was staring at me. And I thought it wise not to anger a father who had that much firepower. Besides I got the impression the Stargirl was only flirting with me because she'd didn't like Kara, and not because she actually wanted me as a boyfriend.

"We'll see" was all I said on the matter, before changing the subject "and speaking of hot blondes I better go home and change. I'm suppose to be taking her out tonight".

Plus I had a party to intend.

**Mess Hall – The Watchtower – November 2002**

"Okay what happened here?" I asked as I entered the mess hall.

By the looks of things the entire mess hall had been used to set up a party. Kara's surprise party I assumed. Only no one looked to be having any sort of fun.

"Did someone die?" I then inquired, now feeling rather worried "is Supergirl okay?".

"You might want to sit down" said Superman as he held out a cube of some sort.

I had the horrible feeling that I knew exactly what had happened. It was a year early as well.

"It's bad isn't it" I muttered as I held the cube.

Indeed it was bad. In fact it was exactly what I had feared.


	17. Chapter 17

Joe Lawyer

Kara going to the future a year earlier is due to Gothic, but not directly it's due to changes in the time line. The Fatal Five were dealt with by Gothic so Kara's in the future to combat a different threat.

Raven won't be back just yet. Well she is around she's just busy. I think making your boyfriend a harem is a good way to say I'm sorry. I mean it isn't the only reason she does it, but it's part of it.

Dark0w1

A chainaxe is a bit much. He has lots of weapons already... oh who am I kidding. You can never have enough weapons.

I've never seen a biker in a fur coat. Although a leather jacket made from the hide of a mythical creature. That sounds simply awesome. Raven would so make something like that.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Mistakes**

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

I was woken up by the noise of someone moving about in the bedroom. This didn't alarm me, which was a good thing because the hangover I'd inflicted upon myself made it impossible for me to do more than turn my head, and even that was painful to endure.

"Go back to sleep" I heard a voice say.

It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, but they did and I could soon she Shayera Hol moving around my room. By the looks of things she was trying to find something in the dark. I would have turned the lights on, but I knew that would only make the pain in my head worse and besides I didn't want to move.

"Are you okay?" I asked "did I do something to upset you".

I only asked because she seemed to be making an attempt not to look at me. I quickly figured out that it had something to do with the fact that she was also attempting to get dressed.

"No" Shay said to me "you didn't do anything wrong. I did".

It didn't take the world's greatest detective to figure out what had happened. But I tried to remember anyway.

We'd been drinking, a lot and Shay had seemed a lot more clingy than normal. I'd put it down to the fact that she'd seen me die. That sort of thing really shakes a person up. Mixing that sort of emotional stress with booze had been a recipe for a big mistake it seemed.

"Did we?" I inquired.

"Yes" she confirmed "and it can never happen again".

By now my healing powers were kicking in which helped with the headache, but I was as thirsty as a man could get. Plus my bladder was full so I got up to go to the bathroom, and went I got out again Shay hadn't left she was just sitting on my bed.

"I'll get you some water" I told her.

I didn't bother to wait for an answer I just went down one floor grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge. I'd never understood the point of having bottles of cold water around until now.

By the time I got back up I found that Shayera still hadn't left. Which was good but she seemed very depressed.

"Don't want to do the walk of shame?" I asked her.

At least she didn't bothered by the fact that I was walking around naked. I'd been to distracted by the needs of my body to bother to put anything on.

"I don't know what that means" she said to me as she drank down the water I'd gotten her.

"It's what happens when you get drunk and end up having a one night stand" I explained "you feel ashamed of what you did and end up sneaking out early to try and get home. It's really embarrassing as you look a right state what with being hungover and a bit of mess".

I should know. I'd done myself and on of the lecturers at my college had spotted me, she even mentioned that how awful I'd looked to the entire class. It had been very embarrassing.

"Oh" was all she said to that.

I knew that there wasn't anything I could say to make her feel better, so I didn't bother. Personally the only regret I had was that I couldn't quite remember having sex with her. It was a bit jumbled up, and I had the horrible feeling I hadn't lasted very long. Which was a shame as I was normally very good at giving women orgasms.

Also I had few images of her running a bath. I had no idea why, but I assumed that at the time it had made sense to drunk people we'd been.

If I had to guess Shayera was trying to decide if it was more embarrassing to stay here or to teleport up to the Watchtower. It was Gotham time up in the station. Which meant the early morning crew should be setting up right about now. But here it was the middle of the night.

"You can take a shower" if you want I offered "there's two other bedrooms..."

"I can't believe I bathed you" she said suddenly.

Well that explained why I felt so clean, and why I could remember her filling the tub with water.

"In your defence I did get pretty dirty today, and better you than the Amazons".

The women of Paradise Island had offered to let us all bathe after the mission, however I'd been using a magical glamour to disguise myself as a woman. Had the spell failed during the bathing? Well they would have not been happy to find a naked man among them, or they might have been very happy to see me which would have gotten me into trouble of a different sort.

"Grooming someone is a big deal on my planet" Shay began to explain "and I wrapped my wings around you".

I didn't actually know what the thing with the wings meant, but it I guessed that it was very personal.

"I do love you" Shay then admitted "but I don't love you in that way. This was a mistake".

Well I'd know that she was very found of me, but I hadn't realised just how attached she was. Then again I could imagine that she was very lonely and she'd come closing to losing one of the few friends she had. But rather than comment on that I just drank some more water and got back into bed. I found that I didn't really care much by now. I was just too fed up.

"So this can't happen again" Shay then said.

I had expected her to leave, but rather than do that she got undressed and then told me sit up so that she could put a wing under me.

"Scoot down a little and then lie back" she then instructed.

Not seeing any reason to say no I did as I was told and soon found myself cocooned in feathers. It was weird at first but once I got use to it started to feel nice. Even more so when Shay turned my head so that her bare breasts were in my face. It was very comfortable.

"Don't tell anyone about this" Shay then said "people might get the wrong idea".

"So I'm not getting more sex?" I asked "this is kind of a tease, you know. You have great breasts".

Okay so it wasn't a bad thing, but I was worried that a certain part of my body would get the wrong idea. Not that my sex drive could be blamed as having an attractive naked woman in your bed does normally lead to sex.

"We did it twice already" she then told me "I'm worn out. I just want to be close to you".

Disappointing, but that at least meant that I'd been impressive enough that she'd wanted to go again.

"Go to sleep and we can sex again in the morning" she then promised me.

I took her at her word and resisted the urge to suck on her nipples. I had to kick that habit.

"Blackfire is not going to be happy about this" Shay said before she fell asleep.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

When I next woke up there was a woman in my room, it was just that she was the wrong one and she looked very angry. Shayera was long gone judging by the fact that I was alone in bed. She managed to sneak out without waking me up this time.

"I don't believe this" said a mad looking Blackfire "you slept with some woman. I was told that you'd been on a mission all day!".

Sometimes I got the impression that a lot of people talked about me behind my back. Now I was pretty sure of it.

"I was on a mission" I told the alien princess "and I nearly died so maybe you could be a bit nicer to me".

"So what you went out and decided to bring some slut home".

Now I was actually glad Shay had snuck out. Well actually I wasn't because she'd lied to me, and that was rather mean, but had she been her that remark would not have gone down well.

"Shut up" I ordered as I got out of bed.

It's not easy to look intimating when your naked, but somehow I managed it make it work.

"Who I sleep with is none of your business" I then said "Kara's gone, she isn't coming back and I don't even know when Ray will be back, so as far as I'm concerned I am single. So I can have sex with whoever I damn well please and it's got nothing to do with you".

I wasn't finished yet.

"This is just typical of all my so called friends" I went on say "none of you care about what I want. It's all about what you want from me. Well I'm fed up of being the nice guy who tries to other people happy".

I got out of bed and started to get dressed. I decided to go with the leather jacket and the spiky belt as I wanted to go out for spin on my bike.

Then I remembered it had been destroyed, and by who. That wasn't going to happen again.

"Things are going to change around here" I warned Blackfire "and given that this is my house if you don't like it you can move out".

By this point she was crying, and that would normally make me want to comfort her. But no one wanted to comfort me, well not unless it was their sake, and I had no desire to be used.

At least for once it wasn't just the women in my life who were driving me crazy. Not a single male member of the either the Justice League or the Teen Titans had made an effort for me. Well Superman had at least tried to be kind to me, but that had been more about him because Kara was his cousin, and he hadn't been too broken up about it either.

"I'm just trying to look out for you" Blackfire said when it became clear that the water work weren't getting her anywhere "I don't think you should be sleeping around just because Kara's gone".

I did not believe that for a second.

"No you don't want me sleeping around because your plan is to wait a while and then try to get with me" I corrected.

She might not realise it, but I knew her well enough to know that on some level that was her plan.

"That's not true" the alien princess argued "and Ace is really upset. She thinks you don't care about us anymore".

Another transparent attempt to pull on my heartstrings, and it sort of worked as I was not at all mad at her. A sixteen year old girl with a crush was bound to get jealous, and given the hormones it would be natural for her to act out because of it.

"How's this going to look when the League find out" Blackfire then said "you can't be getting drunk here if your suppose to be looking after her".

Damn I'd not taken that into account. If the League took her away, assuming she'd let them, then things would get bad. Ace didn't legally exist so social services never came over, which was good because I wasn't really suitable to look after her. I wasn't related to Ace in any way and I was only legally eighteen and she'd never been to school either. Any social worker would take her away in a heartbeat.

That would a disaster even if Cadmus didn't try to grab her because I was the only person who was totally immune to Ace's powers. If anyone tried to take her away she'd lash out, and then go on the run. A life of crime would be her only way to survive.

"You're right" I said to Blackfire "I won't bring anyone back here and I won't drink".

Just when she'd thought she won I dropped a bombshell.

"And if you destroy anything else in this house I'll kick you out. I have to put Ace's safety first. Kara isn't around to look after us any more, so I need you to help me keep her safe and that means you need to grow up. No more arguing or you can find somewhere else to live".

The League wouldn't have worried too much about Ace with Supergirl being close by, but I couldn't protect her on my own. They try to protect her by keeping her in the Watchtower, and while that might be for the best I couldn't be sure that Ace would agree. Teenagers aren't exactly known for being rational, and Ace had good reasons for not being mental stable.

Realising all of that made me understand how much trouble we were in changed my plans for the day. I know had to go and bring Raven back if only so that we had more fire power around here. At the very least I needed to some mystical defences put up around the house. Thankfully I had an idea on how to accomplish both of those things.

I knelt down to take a special box out from under my bed. I opened it and ignored the keepsakes, such as Kara's special ring, Slade's Mask, the Eye of the Panther, the underwear Tali al Ghul had sent me, Mr Stabby and so on. What I took out was an old fashioned looking scroll.

"I'm going out for a while" I said to the exiled princess "I need to see a witch about a portal, so be a lamb and look after Ace for me".

I gave Blackfire a kiss on the cheek, and then told her to leave the room. She was understandable confused about my change in attitude, but she did as she was told.

Once the door was shut I started reading the words on the scrolls, which was some sort of Latin, and I was transported away.

(Line Break)

**Hidden Cadmus Base – Location Unknown – November 2002 **

As if by magic... well actually is was by magic, I appeared in another place. To my complete lack of surprise I was in what seemed to be sort of medieval alchemy lab. The kind of place you'd expect to met Professor Snape in.

What did shock me was the missing wall and the fact that everything beyond the room looked futuristic. It didn't make much sense, but it did led me to figuring out that I was in a Cadmus base. Thankfully for me it looked abandoned.

I quickly located the magic mirror that contained the sorcerers known to me by the name of Tala. She was delighted to see me.

"So have you come to take up my offer of an apprenticeship?" she asked.

Someone she managed to look seductive even while trapped in a piece of glass.

"Yes" I answered "but I won't be able to dedicate myself to it full time, and I need a favour from you".

It took her no time at all to answer.

"Get me out of this mirror and I'll do anything you ask of me. _Anything_".

That was a hard to resist offer, and I didn't even try. I needed her to help me unlock my magical potential. If I could get Raven back she could do that for me, as she had helped me learn a little, but it was never a good idea to let anyone know the full extent of what you were capable off. So having two teachers would help with that.

"I need you to take me to Nanda Parbat" I told the trapped witch.

Tala was surprised by that, but she nodded her head. I wasn't worried about the magic user going back on her word as I knew that while she had a lot of power she was easily controlled by a man. At least in the short term.

Now all I had to do was get her out of the mirror.

"Zhro" I said while touching the mirror.

Nothing happened. Lifting the spell apparently wasn't the answer. Maybe because there was more than one spell on the mirror.

"You need to use a proper spell like Faust did" Tala told me "try calling upon your magic and then say: By the power of Zeus. Free her essence from this vessel and open the path to freedom"

After a few moments of thinking I figured it out. I let the demonic fire engulf my hands and I then said

"By the power of Zeus. Free her essence from this vessel and open the path to freedom".

I felt a dark energy rush through me and I got the impression that I'd just used Trigon's powers to perform that spell. It made sense as that demon had been able to transform the entire Earth into a Hell. So even with just a fraction of his spirit within me I should be able to cast spells such as this.

My theory was proven right when I saw that Tala was now back in her physical body, and what a body it was. She had it all, the legs, the hips, the boobs. No wonder she was able to get powerful men so interested in her. Heck she had me interested in her.

"You're more powerful then I imagined" the witch "in time you won't even need me to open portals for you".

I doubted that as I knew that it took incredible amounts of magical energy to open a portal, and even then they could be quite random. To make a portal you could control was an amazing feat.

"Just take me to Tibet" I said "I'll need a lift home too".

"As you wish" Tala replied as she began to channel her own magical energy.

(Line Break)

**Nanda Parbat – Tibet – November 2002**

After stepping through the portal I found myself on the other side of the world. Which was pretty cool. What wasn't cool was the temperature. It was colder here than I had expected. Living in California did not prepare you well for snow and ice. Oddly Tala did not seem to be bothered by the weather, but she might not even be human so perhaps it wasn't weird at all.

Before I'd even reached the stairs two monks armed only with simple wooden staffs blocked my path.

"I'm guessing you guys aren't pacifists" I commented.

They looked like Buddhist monks, but they weren't acting like any peace lovers I'd ever met.

"I fear that we must deny you entrance" an elderly monk.

By now I was getting sick and tired of people denying me things, so I took out my telescoping staff and extended it.

"You have much rage in your heart" the old man said.

"That's because people keep pissing me off" I replied.

"I do not mean to anger you" said the aged monk with a slight bow "but you can not allow you to enter the temple. We will stop you".

"Yeah, you and what army" I mocked.

That was when the old man clapped his hands and that summoned a small army of monks. They appeared out of know where and did a lot of acrobatics, much of which involved running across rooftops.

"Well that's impressive" I muttered.

This was a little much even for me. I wasn't willing to kill holy men, and I didn't think I could win without using lethal force. If Raven hadn't come here by choice I would have at least tried, but she had to know I was here and since wasn't willing to see me there was no point fighting.

"I'm guessing she doesn't want to see me?" I said to the oldest monk.

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. The sadness in his eyes told me enough.

I turned on the spot and walked away.

"Just take me to Jump City" I ordered of Tala "I need some time to myself. You can come find me in few days".

The witch did as she was instructed and soon enough I was back in the city I called home.

(Line Break)

**Nanda Parbat – Tibet – November 2002**

"That was horrible" said Raven as the leader of the monks entered the temple "I wanted to talk to him so bad".

The spiritual leader put a comforting hand upon the woman's shoulder. She was practical hidden under her purple cloak and her voice had remained stoic, but the holy man didn't need to see or hear Raven to know just hard she was taking this.

"It was a test" he explained "you had to be sure that your passion can no longer control your actions".

"That doesn't make me feel any better" commented Raven.

"Of course not" the monk replied "but it does mean you are ready to the goddess's work".

"Yes" the part demon said "I have a lot to do".

She could only hope that one day she would be forgiven and that all this hardship would be justly rewarded.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

"Gothic" said a female voice.

I turned my head to see that Ace had come down to the basement. I'd been to busy beating up a defenceless punching bag to hear her coming.

"I'm sorry about Kara" the telepathic meta-human then said.

That made me stop wanting to hit things, and I just had to sit down. I was just so tired. I'd pushed myself too far today. Not physically but mentally I was worn out.

"You're the first person to say that" I told Ace "no one else seems to care much about how I feel".

It was true. No one else had said it. A few people had expressed without saying anything, but no had actually used words. I'd really needed to hear it and Ace was the only person to figure that out.

"I do" she assured me and she moved to sit next to me on the floor "I know how much it hurts. I can feel how sad you are".

Yeah the word sad summed me up nicely right now.

"You're a wonderful person" I told the teen as I put my arm around her "don't ever forgot that".

"I'll never leave you" Ace said trying to sound she meant it "no matter what I'll always be here for you".

If only that was true, but even if her own brain didn't kill her she'd die one day. Sometimes I thought I would be handle it, but given how hard I'd been hit just by Kara leaving I knew I really wouldn't be able to deal with the death of someone I loved. Plus there I had to consider that I wasn't as immortal as I'd thought I had been. I died in Tartarus. Granted the rules that governed life and death had been different in that realm, but I now knew it was possible that I would die sooner than Ace would.

Which made me think that the best thing to do was to simply enjoy the time I had with people. As for what would happen later, well I had no control over that.

"Let's go out for some ice cream" I said to Ace "I wanna spend some time with you".

That made her perk up at once. It was like I'd thrown an invisible switch.

"I want chocolate" she declared.

Yeah I needed chocolate as well. A double scoop with a flake. That would really hit the spot about now.


	18. Chapter 18

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Dates **

**Ra's al Ghul's Private Island – The Caribbean Sea - November 2002**

With a roar of pain Ra's al Ghul burst out from the green liquid, as he had multiple times before, a scream tearing itself out of his throat as the healing fluids once more reversed the effect that the passing of years had upon the human body.

This was not the first time he had used the Lazarus Pit, far from it in fact, yet Ra's had never gotten used to the experience. Truth be told he actually hated using the pit, but he was dependent on them in order to keep himself immortal. The Demon's Head was somewhere between 600 and 700 years old now, he was so old that he was starting to lose count.

Immediately after emerging from the pit, a large, muscular man was at his side who kept his face hidden by a hood, was helping him out of the pit and was soon wrapping Ra's naked body in a richly decorated robe.

"Are you well, Master?" the man asked in concerned.

Judging by appearances Ra's was not okay. His pupils were dilated, and his breathing was ragged. Every time he used the Lazarus Pit Ra's ah Ghul could feel his sanity slipping away. He knew that one day he would lose his mind, and soon after that he would die.

This was why he had spent so much time and resources seeking out an heir. He needed someone capable of carrying on his great work once he was gone. Of course he was not going to simply accept death. Should things go to plan he might soon find away to transfer his own mind into a suitable body. He even had a candidate chosen for the honour.

"I am fine" Ra's said as he got himself fully under control.

Once the after effect of using the pit had passed and Ra's could walk on his own once more, the Demon's Head pulled away from his minion and made for the nearest exit.

He needed to rest for a while before dealing with any League of Shadows business.

(Line Break)

**Diner – Jump City – November 2002**

For the second time in two days I walked into the diner that had recently become my favourite place to go eat. I'd taken Kara here after that fight with Mongul and since then I'd come back here a few times. My most recent visit had been yesterday evening. I'd brought Ace here for some ice cream and now I was here once more so I could get something substantial to dine upon. I didn't have anyone to cook for me any more, and while I could actually prepare a meal I simply couldn't be bothered. As for the others well Blackfire was able to feed herself and as for Ace she needed to learn to fend for herself, at least when it came to making lunch.

There were other reasons for me to venture to this diner. For starters it was a nice place, it had a bit fifties nostalgia theme going for it. The other reason was the food was rather nice. They did burgers and hot dogs here that were vastly superior to the stuff fast food joints served.

"Hey handsome" called out a sexy female voice "take a seat. I'll be right with ya".

Another good reason to eat at this diner was Claire. She was a college student. She was also blonde, pretty, smarter than she let on and best of all she had the kind of smile that always made life seem a little brighter.

Claire was also one of the many people who I'd helped out as a Teen Titan. It hadn't been during some epic battle she was just someone I'd encountered during a solo patrol. A crook had grabbed her purse, but he hadn't gotten very far before I kicked him in the head. Nothing special about that even for me, but it had meant a lot to the college student.

I took a seat at an empty table and started to look over the menu. I was very hungry today, so I was tempted by the gut buster burger. If I still had to worry about things like cholesterol I'd never let something as unhealthy as a double cheese burger that came with bacon anywhere near my mouth, but I didn't have those kinds of concerns.

"So what will it be?" Claire the waitress asked when she got to my table.

I made my order and I noticed that the college student seemed to be a little less cheery than normal, she sounded more like a city girl when she was in a bad mood, so I asked her what was wrong.

"I was suppose to go out tonight, but my boyfriend just dumped me. I feel like such a loser" Claire explained.

That I could empathise with.

"My girlfriend just left me" I said to the waitress "so I know how exactly how you feel".

Technically Kara hadn't actually broken up as she was just in the future. Should everything go according to plan I would catch up with her in about a thousand years, so that we could try and settle down but it certainly felt like I'd been dumped.

"There's a lot of that going round" Claire then told me "even Debbie and Tim have been fighting".

That yet another reason why I sometimes came down here. Claire knew Deborah Benson aka Deadly Ballerina. The two of them had shared a dorm room so Claire was well aware that Debbie had, for a short time at least, been a Teen Titan. Which meant it was highly likely that she also that Tim Drake had been Robin. Claire never made any mention of it, but the connection was pretty clear. This connection also allowed me to keep tabs on the couple without actually having to spy on them.

"Fighting about what?" I causally inquired.

I made sure that I didn't sound too concerned, but truthfully I was rather worried about Tim's welfare.

"Nothing much" Claire answered "just couple stuff. I'm just worried they might break up".

That would be a shame as they'd always seemed happy together, and they were according to a reliable mind reader I knew. However couples sometimes break up. It's sad, but it happens.

"I'll get your food" the waitress said as she flashed me the smile that always got her a good tip "do you want coffee too?"

"Yes" I said to her.

With that the waitress touched her hair, brushing it out of her eyes before turning around and walking away. She then dropped her pen and bent over, and that gave me a chance to check out her ass. Which may have been why she had dropped the pen.

I could never tell if Claire actually liked me or if she flirted because I tipped well, and until now I hadn't really cared but if she had told me that she was single because she was hoping to snag a date for tonight then she was in luck as I did need a date for tonight.

When she got back to my table I decided to bite the bullet and just ask.

"Claire do you own a sexy black dress".

"Sure do" the blond waitress replied without delay "Why'd you want to know?"

If she read the papers she'd know what big event was happing this evening, and it might be the reason why she'd even mentioned not having a date to on this very night.

"I need someone gorgeous at my side tonight for a charity event" I told the waitress "it should be fun".

The student's smile told me her answer before she said anything.

"I'm free tonight. What time can you pick me up?"

(Line Break)

**Ra's al Ghul's Private Island – The Caribbean Sea - November 2002**

Hours later Ra's left his quarters, fully dressed now, with one of his guards following close behind. The Demon's Head had been about to enter his study when he heard the sound of an approaching helicopter.

Ra's al Ghul knew that Talia had returned from her 'secret rendezvous' with Gotham's Dark Knight. The daughter of the Demon's Head hadn't seen Bruce Wayne for more than nine months, and while normally a woman who had just given birth mere weeks ago were rarely interested in reacquainting with a past lover, there were advantages to using the Lazarus Pits and Talia was in love with the Batman. So it was no surprise for the centuries old man that his daughter had taken a trip to the Detective's city.

What was a shock for Ra's al Ghul was to see Talia storm out of the helicopter. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying. Normally she enjoyed her trips away from the island. Clearly this was not one of those times, and it was also obvious that the Dark Knight was still resistant to Talia's seduction attempts. Rumour had it that Batman had taken Wonder Woman as a lover, there was no proof but it would explain why Talia looked so heartbroken.

"Daughter, what is wrong? What happened?" Ra's asked.

He reached out in an attempt to halt her, but she brushed past him.

"Not now, Father. I wish to be alone" Talia replied.

Ra's made another attempt to make his daughter stop and talk to him, but his child was already walking away.

The Demon's Head stroked his chin thoughtfully as he thought about his daughter's life. Despite her best effort Talia was not going to be able to convince the Batman to marry her and become Ra's heir. Not that this was such an important task this days as Talia was already promised to a young man who potential surpassed that of Bruce Wayne, but it seemed that his daughter still had her heart set on the Batman. He would have to do something about this. It was time for his daughter to move on, and he knew just how to help her do that.

(Line Break)

**Charity Event – Jump City – November 2002**

"This is real fancy" Claire declared as we tried to navigate our way through the crowds of well dressed people.

Was surprised me was that neither of us looked that out of place. I'd rented a fancy suit and gone to a lot of effort, for a straight guy, to smarten myself up. Claire as promised did have a sexy black dress, and she looked great in it. I was no expert in women's fashion, but my keen observation skills told me that my date had somehow found the time to go to a hairdressers, and to get her make up done. Possible at the same place.

I also knew that she felt very out of place here, she was a country girl who had moved to Jump City in order to go to college and she worked as a waitress to help pay for her education. Sure she was intelligent, you could see it in her eyes, but she wouldn't be used to such events.

Of course neither was I despite the fact that I was rich and famous. Still I could fake being sophisticated easily enough. Blending in was just a matter of acting like you belonged. I smiled for the people with cameras and I gracefully swiped a couple of glasses of champagne from a passing waiter before handing on to Claire.

"I..I.. don't drink" she told me "I haven't turned twenty-one yet".

For the life of me I couldn't recall someone who actually refused free booze even if they weren't old enough to drink. Maybe she just didn't want to get drunk and embarrass herself.

"Just sip it" I instructed while taking her arm "You don't need to finish the glass, you just need to look as if you're having fun".

"I am having fun" Claire assured "this is all so great. I haven't had a ride in a limo since my prom".

For her it should be rather overwhelming. I could well imagine how wonderful all this would seem to be for her. A date at a very fancy party with a genuine super hero. Most women could only dream about this sort of thing, and now here she was living out that fantasy. No wonder she was smiling so much.

"So how much do you think you'll get" Claire asked me as we circulated the room.

I didn't know anyone here well enough to talk to them, but I did shake hands with mayor and the police chief as I had in the past attended meetings with the both.

"I have no idea" I told my date "I've never been to an event like this before. I just know that some members of the League have raised up to a million dollars".

Kara had thought half a million would be more than enough, but naturally she had been bias. I would consider myself lucky if anyone bid on me.

Although I might not have to worry given some of the looks I was getting. Even in my expensive clothing most people had no trouble recognising who I was. Which was odd as there was nothing remarkable about my features as far as I could see. Sure my dress sense got attention, but I might as well in a disguise right now.

It was then that I discovered that there was a blown up picture of me up on the stage. It wasn't that noticeable as the stage wasn't lit up, but I could see it well enough to know that it was something that had been taken at the recent convention.

Then I spotted a group of people, mostly middle aged women, who were hanging around a table near the stage. Upon closer inspection it turned out to a table about me. There were smaller pictures and what looked to be leaflets of some sort. I guessed them to be suggestions of what the highest bidder could do with me for the day.

"How does the auction work?" my date asked.

"Well there's two kind of events like this" I explained "the women super heroes have a silent auction. Everyone bids however much they want to give to the charity, and then one of the bids is selected as the winner. Kind of like a raffle".

At least that was how Kara had explained it.

"We men get auctioned off differently. I go up on stage and people bid on me. The highest bidder wins, and they get to spend the day with me doing whatever it is they wanna do or they get me to do something for them. But that's not until tomorrow".

It was like being sold into temporary slavery. The only reason why... actually I couldn't remember why I'd agreed to do this.

"If I had the money I'd bid for sure" Claire then told me.

That was sweet of her to say.

"You get to spend time with me for free" I reminded my date "in fact you get paid to talk to me".

And I tipped very well.

"Yeah, but that's work" pointed out Claire "this is way better".

My date was sounding more and more like a city girl every time I spoke to her. That was shame as her country girl accent was rather charming.

"It is" I agreed "you look wonderful by the way".

"Thanks" she replied "and you look very handsome".

Well she said that about me a lot.

"So are you the only guy hero being auctioned?" Claire inquired.

"In Jump City" I answered "this is the first super hero auction that's ever taken place here".

Which explained why part of the sign over the stage said 'first annual' and that made me wonder who they'd get for next year's event.

"But there's auctions going on all over the country" I added "Superman and the Flash do this every year".

"Excuse me, sir" said a voice from behind me.

I turned to see who had addressed me. It was gentlemen who was part of the events security. Hopefully this wasn't about the under-age drinking.

"You're needed backstage" the man then said "we're almost ready to begin".

I checked my watch and found that it was indeed time for the main event. I hadn't realised how quickly the evening was going by.

"Wish me luck" I requested of my date.

She did just that and that I was being escorted to the parts of the building visitors would not get to see.

"Excuse me sir" said a woman with a headset and a clipboard "did you bring your costume?"

"No" I replied "should I have?".

Had Kara been here she would of dealt with the details. She really had made life too easy for me.

"It's not a problem" the woman told me "we just had a dressing room set up for you. But if you don't need to prepare then we can get on with things. We're actually running late".

"Sorry" I apologised "I'm new to all of this I didn't know I was suppose to come backstage".

"That's quite aright sir" the organiser assured me "first time events such as this never run as smoothly as we'd like".

I was glad to know it wasn't my fault.

"Do you have a speech?" I was then asked.

"No" I said rather timidly.

"That's fine as well" the organising person assured "Now if you're ready I let the announcer know".

The woman spoke into a microphone and then guided me down a hallway.

That was when the stage lit up and my name was called out by an unseen voice. The organiser gestured so I walked onto the risen platform and tried not to squint when the spotlight hit me. The crowd wasn't as big as the one at the convention had been, but these weren't teenagers. These people were the crème da la crème of society here in Jump City, and if they didn't like me then it was the charity that would suffer. Then again maybe that didn't matter as I could always give them a big donation.

At least I wasn't alone on the stage this time. There was a professional looking man. He introduced me and people clapped their hands. I couldn't make out any faces in the crowd but if I focused it was possible to tell who was male and who was female. The auctioneer then went on very quickly explain the rules of the event, and the terms of the sale. Which no one cared about judging by the amount of pictures being taken.

"We will start the bidding at two thousand dollars" the auctioneer

Not very much considering how much an event like this must cost to set up. It was possible that the ticket prices would cover that, but I had a VIP pass which had allowed me to bring a guest and to get in for free so I had no idea how much people had paid just to get in here.

"Five thousand dollars" somewhat shouted out while waving a paddle.

"Six thousand" someone else said

"Eight thousand"

"Ten thousand"

How anyone could keep up with this bidding was beyond me. There were no pauses just people raising a coloured paddle and then shouting out a number.

"The highest bid is fifty thousand" The auctioneer announced. "Do I hear fifty one thousand"

That made my head spin a little. Someone was willing to pay fifty thousand dollars to spend the day with me.

"Fifty-two thousand" yelled out in a high-pitched voice.

I could just about make out a very effeminate man waving his hand in the air in a way that could be called camp.

"We have a bid for fifty-two thousand" announced the auctioneer "Do I hear fifty-three thousand".

"Sixty thousand" said a female voice towards the back.

I knew that voice from somewhere, but I couldn't quite place it.

"One hundred thousand dollars" said a foreign voice that also sounded a little familiar.

That bid made everyone gasp, and I could well understand why. A hundred thousand dollars was a lot of money to me and I was a millionaire. Whoever had made that bid was either insanely rich or I had fan who was about to put themselves into a lot of debt.

I then spotted the auctioneer talking into the headset. I guessed that he was getting some sort of confirmation on that bid. Sure Jump City had a few citizens who could throw around that amount of money, but the staff here had to find out if this woman was one of them before confirming the bid.

"That's one hundred thousand going once."

Apparently the bidder had the money. Whoever she was, she had to not only wealthy but they also had to be a big fan.

"One hundred thousand going twice"

No one so much as moved their head.

"Sold to Miss Talia al Ghul" said the auctioneer.

Ah hell. It just had to be her.

(Line Break)

**Charity Event – Jump City – November 2002**

I was directed by the organiser to go and find the women who had won me in the bidding. It wasn't hard to pick Talia out as she was gorgeous in ways few women could be.

"What a vision you are, Thief. I can see why my beloved would amuse himself with you".

There she was: Talia Al Ghul, looking impossibly arrogant, composed – and cool. Her outfit was exquisite and not a hair on her head was out of place, she even smelled good. She bound to make Claire feel ugly and worthless in comparison.

What made it worse was that the woman Talia was taking to was none other than Selena Kyle. She been the one to bring the bidding up to seventy thousands dollars, and if anything she looked even more fabulous than Talia. Although that could be because of the breasts. Like Kara's boobs. Selena's seemed too awesome to be possible, she had to be a meta-human of some sort.

"Did you hear me, Thief?" the future wife then said.

I made no attempt to interrupt this 'conversation' I knew I could take Selena down if I had to, but she was no killer. Talia al Ghul was far more deadly. Plus she would have bodyguards nearby. So trying to break up this argument could end up getting people killed.

Miss Kyle didn't seem so concerned as rather than reply, Selena laughed.

"You dare laugh at me, Thief. Tell me what you find so amusing" Talia demanded to know.

I also wished to know, as I'd missed the start of this fight.

"You what to know I was thinking" replied Catwoman "I was thinking that you're not very good at this. I guess when you were growing up nobody ever dared to disagree with you, or god forbid deny you something you really wanted".

Or in layman's terms. Selena had just called Talia spoiled brat.

"I bet you never had any competition when you went after a man either" Selena then added.

"You may insult me all you like" the daughter of the Demon's Head then said "but you can never come between my beloved and I. We are destined for each other. He is chosen above all men to continue the great work of my father".

I assumed that they were talking about Bruce Wayne rather than myself.

"It's like your staring in your own Euripides play" Selena mocked.

By that I assumed she was implying that the romance between Talia and Bruce was going to end in catastrophe as Euripides had been a play write in Ancient Greece who was known for writing tragedies.

"You ridicule matters of great importance and you flatter yourself into thinking that you are dear to him? He is a man, he found you pleasing, so what. Now that he's had you, what can you possibly offer him?"

I wondered if this was going to become one of those hissing-scratching-hairpulling sideshows were overdressed women knock each other into swimming pools. If so I hoped there dresses became transparent or at least badly torn up.

"You are nothing special. You were just some passing amusement, a conquest. Nothing more" Talia then added.

Knowing Batman as I did I knew that wasn't that simple. The Dark Knight had real affection for Catwoman. He was just to obsessed with his crime fighting to grab a good thing when it came his way.

"Let me tell you something. I think it's really sweet that you're so protective and committed to a relationship that doesn't even exist. It says a lot about you".

Yeah that she was a nutjob.

"Ladies is this really the time or the place to be talking about _him_?"

I wanted to make it clear that they weren't talking about me because people were listening. They were acting like they weren't but I could tell by the lack of background noise that everyone was paying attention.

"Who?" asked Selena before understanding my question "no we were talking about you".

"Huh?" was my well thought out reply.

"I shall see you in the morning" said Talia as she moved to leave "until then beloved".

Oh this so had to be some evil plan of Ra's al Ghuls. That or Batman really was sleeping with Wonder Woman and these two had decided to get themselves another dark haired hero to obsess over. Maybe to make try to and make Bruce Wayne jealous. Well I could believe that of Selena but for Talia this had to be some al Ghul family scheme.

"Please take me home" Claire then asked while tugging on my hand "I really don't want to stay here".

That I agreed with so I took my date home.

(Line Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – November 2002**

As I entered my bedroom I started to take off the rented outfit only to stop when I sensed a presence. I had no idea what it was that tipped me off, but I just knew that someone was lying on my bed.

"Don't stop" said Selena Kyle "I was enjoying the view".

I sighed as I hung the jacket of the suit.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

I might of asked 'how did you find me?' but this was Catwoman. You don't get to be master thief if you don't know a safe house when you see it.

"I was thinking that maybe I've been backing the wrong horse all these years. If Bruce is too old and set in his ways to be any fun, maybe someone a little younger—someone a lot more virile. Just for sex you understand I'm not into settling down".

"So you were willing to spend seventy thousand dollars on a booty call?" I questioned as I undid my tie.

Thinking that flattered me, but it also made me feel a bit dirty. I was like a very expensive whore.

"Well that was just get your attention" Selena confessed while I stared into her emerald green eyes "I was hoping for a friend's with benefits deal".

Tempting but I had promised not to bring any one night stands back home. Not that I had as she'd come here uninvited

"You can spank me" Selena then offered "as much as you want".

"Does everyone know about my perversions?" I asked myself.

"You just look the type" Catwoman said before admitting the truth " and it's on your fan site"

I watched as Selena got up off the bed and then she let her dress fall to the floor. Which left her dressed only in her a pair of panties that look small enough to be accidentally inhaled. If she had been wearing a bra at the even earlier it was long gone now.

"Something wrong, handsome?"

Hearing her call me that reminded me that Claire didn't want a second date. Not that I could blame her. I had some really scary women in my life.

"No..." I lied.

There was a lot wrong.

"Tell me about it" Selena requested "maybe I can help".

I highly doubted that she could help, but I told her about my problems, to my amazement she had an answer.

"If you can't protect her you need to send her away. It's not a nice thing to do, but you have to do what is best for your friends.

That actually made a lot of sense. Ace might go and live in the Watchtower if I asked her to or maybe I could talk to the League and she if they had anywhere to stash her. It wouldn't have to be forever. This trouble with CADMUS should be over soon. I suspected that because they'd been to quiet recently. It meant that they were building up to something big.

"And as for your other room mate, you should just start dating her" Catwoman then advised "and you can see me on the side".

That shocked me to hear, but I didn't judge Selena badly for suggesting it. I was already planning to start shagging the witch Tala so I could get her to teach me more magic. I had no intention of settling down with one girl from now on as the Traveller didn't seem to like that. In fact if I did try to devote myself to one woman I might actually be putting them in danger as it wouldn't surprise me if my jerk of a patron had a hand in sending Kara to the future a year early.

Said out loud it would sound like a justification, but if I told Blackfire why I was never going to be loyal she could simply accept it or decide that she didn't want to date me. The choice would be hears to make. I actually found myself hoping she'd say yes I wouldn't ask Fire to go out without me just yet. I didn't want a girlfriend just yet but it would be nice to date someone who wouldn't get scared off so easily. Plus I felt the need to be with someone I was feeling a little lonely.

"I guess I could do that" I said to Selena.

I'd always had trouble saying no to naked, or nearly naked women.

"I should go soon" Selena then said.

It was pretty late, and I had to be up early tomorrow. However rather than get dressed she actually got closer to me.

"Would you like a titfuck?" she then asked me.

She didn't wait for an answer and instead got down on her knees in front of me before going on to get my cock out. Which disappeared almost entirely between the two mounds of flesh. She then started to move up and down rather quickly which felt just great.

"Do you like me on my knees?" Catwoman inquired.

I just nodded. She most know I had a thing for powerful women who acted as if I was worthy of practically being worshipped.

"I like being on my knees" she then said.

Her speed increased and already I could feel myself just waiting to explode all over her giant boobs.

"I'm…going to cum" I managed say

"Please cum" Selena said while giving me a very sexy look with her eyes "cum for me. All over me".

Which I did. Those eyes were hard to refuse.


	19. Chapter 19

**Author Note.**

A short action chapter. I think there's been enough emotional stuff in this story. Time for an invasion.

Since you want it so bad, here it is.

**ImaRussian **

It's not that complex really. Wonder Woman and Batman are now together so Talia and Catwoman are trying to make Bruce jealous.

Well he is scary. They don't think he'd hurt them really, but they know how far he's willing to go to protect people he cares about and that can be rather intimating and intense.

**Joe Lawyer **

The problem is they are after him like a group of sharks circling a bleeding man who doesn't really know how to swim. It's only a matter of time before one of them sinks their teeth into him, and what's worse is he doesn't even know how many sharks there are.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Power Girl **

**Jump City – December 2002 **

"So let me get this straight" I said as I ducked behind the still burning remains of a police car "The reason the Justice League isn't here is because they are stopping another outbreak of violence Kasnia, helping with tidal wave that's about to hit Japan, while also dealing with not but two mud slides somewhere in South America, and at the same time they are fighting off yet another raid from whack jobs from Apokolips"

It was hard to believe that just two days ago I'd been skiing in Aspen with Tali al Ghul. Now I was fighting Nazis from an alternate Earth.

"Yup" was all Blackfire had to say as a reply.

"And they're so busy with all that, they can't stop to help us fight off a NAZI INVASION?" I then asked.

Judging by the fact that they used a lighting bolt rather than the swastika, I guessed that these fascists were from the parallel universe were Vandel Savage had taken over the Third Reich some point during World War Two. In this reality the six of the seven founding members had gone back in time to prevent Savage from taking over the world. For some reason that time line must have continued on in another dimension.

"Hey don't blame me" Blackfire told me as she used her alien powers to blast a few stormtroopers "I just called for backup. I didn't write up the duty roster. Besides this is happening all over the USA"

I spent a few moments trading fire with some more members of the master race, and since this was an Omega alert situation I wasn't required to limit myself to using non-lethal methods. But while it was nice to be able to kill the bad guys for a change I'd happily trade in my firearms for some cape wearing support.

"Well it's not every day we get invaded by beings from another dimension" I remarked while reloading my gauss pistols.

Fire hadn't lived on this world for that long, but even she wasn't buying that statement.

"Okay so it's not that odd" I admitted.

In fact three out of the last four Christmases, assuming this attack wasn't repelled soon, had been ruined by invasions of one sort or the other. Santa Claus must not be a happy man.

Blackfire blasted the remaining Nazis, and for a few seconds things were peaceful. At least until someone started firing what sounded like artillery.

"Oh thank God you're here" said one of Jump City's finest as he ran over to us "They're all over the financial district!".

Which just happen the part of the city getting shelled by the sounds of things.

"I know" was my response "We were on our way there when we got sidetracked by a squad of stormtroopers".

Plus I'd only woken up half an hour and as of yet hadn't had the chance to have morning coffee. In my view there should be a law against anyone fighting in a war before nine in the morning.

"Any chance of more Titans coming out of retirement?" the police man then inquired.

If an attack by extra-dimensional Nazis hadn't brought any of the other former Teen Titans back to Jump City then nothing would.

"Having Supergirl here would be a big help" the man in uniform added.

No argument there, but sadly she was very far away.

"No such luck" I told the law enforcement officer "It's just us two, at least for now".

And I didn't think it wasn't going to be enough. Not by a long shot.

"The Army, Navy and Air Force Bases took the brunt of the attack" I was then

informed "There are National Guard Units mobilised but they're spread thin".

That was when another loud noise filled the air, and before any of us could do more than go slack jawed as a Spazfrag666 parked itself in front of us.

From what I knew the SpazFrag666 was a motorcycle-shaped vehicle capable of interstellar travel, provided that its rider can survive the vacuum of space and atmospheric re-entry. Which I couldn't but still it was a really cool motorbike/space craft. I was honoured to just see one.

"There you are" the flying bike said in a very familiar voice.

It took Fire and myself a moment to process all of this.

"Kara?" I asked "is that you?"

It sure sounded like her, but she was in the future so how could she be talking to me via a Spazfrag666?

"Not exactly" the bike replied "Kara installed a copy of her neural net into me in order to form my artificial neural network, so I'm a lot like her mentally but not physically of course. I'm a little bit sexier".

Again that took a few moments to sort out in my head. Until I remembered that the human brain could be described as a biological neural network. Really the brain was just an interconnected web of neurons transmitting patterns of electrical signals. Kara wasn't human but her biology hadn't been so different, her brain was a lot more powerful than human one, but it still worked along the same principles. Which meant that this artificial intelligence was more or less Kara, at least in mind as the artificial intelligence's would think like her.

"Oh and Happy Birthday" the Spazfrag666 went on to say "I would have been here earlier but Superman only just finished me. I guess he planned to send me to you soon, but when I learned about the invasion my protocols kicked in. You need the fire power, so here I am".

I had many questions at this point, but only one actually left my mouth.

"Fire power?".

"A Spazfrag666 is normally armed with duel forward facing machine guns but those were upgraded to what you would think of as laser cannons. I was suppose to have a Electromagnetic plasma cannon, but sadly that never got installed" the bike explained "Superman didn't allow it".

Bloody alien overlords.

"Oh that is a sweet ride" another voice then said.

I nearly turned and fired, however it was only Stargirl. She was in uniform and had her awesome staff, so this wasn't a social call.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded to know.

"I did call for backup" Blackfire reminded me.

Ah well yes, that made sense.

"Now all we need is your brother back and this will be a proper reunion" Stargirl said to the alien princess.

Well not quite a proper reunion, but right now this was good enough. Besides Ace was up in the watchtower and that was where I wanted her to be. CADMUS or not this was no place for her.

"Okay we can catch up later" I said to all three of the women, assuming a bike could have a gender. "For now we need to deal with these Nazis".

Before I could come up with a plan, the cop, who was still here for some reason, spoke to us.

"They don't have much air cover" the policemen said "if you guys can fly and if you can take out what they've got in the sky then you can just take out from above. They might even run for it".

That was actually a good idea, and if nothing else getting up there would give us a better idea of what we were dealing with.

"And you have a cool new flying motorcycle" the Spazfrag666 reminded me "I can out fly anything man made, and did I mention: I have laser cannons!".

I took a deep breathe and then started giving out orders.

"Fire, Stargirl, evac the civilians and take out any targets of opportunity you can, but stay clear of those damn War Wheels".

Those strange tanks had a lot of fire power and tough armour. We would have to leave them to League's heavy hitters, whenever they became available.

"What about you?" asked Blackfire

I smiled and jumped on the Spazfrag666.

"Me, I'm going to clear the skies" I said with a smile.

I wanted to find out exactly what Kara had built this bike to do, it was freaky that she'd given it an electronic copy of her own brain, but given my life it really wasn't that odd. Besides fight now it's speed and fire power were what mattered, not it's personality.

"Oh big boy you'll find your sunglasses in the glove compartment, and your lightsaber is by your left foot, and by your right foot is your bolter".

Kara had been busy before she vanished. She had finished the laser sword a while back, but she'd ended up fiddling with it some more and had never gotten around to giving it to me. And if that wasn't cool enough there was freaking bolt pistol in a holster by my right foot.

"It's totally lethal" the Spazfrag666 told me as it's engines warmed up "and you only get five shots per clip but even Mongol will feel it if you shoot him".

Ah so it was for the big boss fights not for everyday use. I had my gauss pistols for that.

Seconds later I was flying over the streets, shooting the Nazi planes with lasers, only these cannons were more like the ones out of Star Wars rather than coherent light weapons. Still they were quite capable of blowing up the enemy troop transports and blasting holes in the side of War Wheels.

All in all, I was making a very big mess of the invasion plans of these Nazis, or at least I was until two beams of real coherent light flashed past me.

"What the hell?" I swore.

When I turned my head what I saw a sight that gave me pause.

"Superman?!" I sputtered.

That was when I noticed the symbol on this Man of Steel's chest was not a S, it was a lightening bolt and he was not wearing red and blue. He was in a uniform, a Nazis uniform.

"Third Reich Superman!" I shouted.

A Superman who served the Nazis, this was worse than Red Son. I was so going to die.

"Oh, shit" I swore again as the Nazis Superman used his heat vision to try and kill me.

"I'm transferring power to the shields" the Spazfrag666 informed me.

As for me I had a plan of my own.

"Gothic to the Justice League. I could use some help here. We've got another version of Superman and he's working with the invaders".

If that didn't bring in the cavalry then nothing would, and it wasn't long in coming. I saw a white streak impact the version of Superman in the Nazis uniform and I went in for a closer look.

When I did there was yet another moment of mistaken identity.

"Kara?"

Again it wasn't her, only this time I didn't need the situation explaining to me. The sunglasses I was wearing told me that this was Galatea, not that I needed the help of the machine.

"I'm Power Girl. Who are you?" the clone of Supergirl demanded to know of the Superman she had just send crashing into the roof of a building.

Had I the chance I would have asked why she was calling herself Power Girl rather than Galatea, but this was neither the time or the place to ask.

"Ich bin Der Ubermensch"

'I am The Superman' I translated for myself.

That was when the Nazis Superman sent Galatea flying. The clone of my lost love went through an entire skyscraper before stopping, and the Ubermensch was not far behind.

Clearly Galatea was outmatched, and if I didn't do anything then she would die. Only I couldn't quite bring myself to actually go and help someone who had tried to hurt my Kara. At least until I reminded myself that if I didn't then this world could end up being ruled by an immortal who wasn't me.

With this in mind I got closer to the fighting super beings and when I got the chance I sent a fireball right at Nazis Superman, which was good for Kara's clone as the Third Reich's Man of Steel had been seconds away from snapping her neck by the looks of things.

Der Ubermensch dropped Galatea and backed away in surprise.

"Magie!"

It didn't take a linguist to figure out what was pissing this guy off.

"Yeah and there a lot more where that came from" I said coolly "Now call off this invasion and go home".

If he spoke English or not I didn't find out as rather than reply Der Ubermensch charged me.

Only to impact the shield that my new Spazfrag666 had put up. I was nearly as surprised as the Nazis Superman, only I was experienced enough to know that I couldn't afford to just sit here and look all shocked.

I let the demonic fire lose and I pounced on Der Ubermensch. As the rage filled me my fists rained down on him with merciless ferocity. With the magical flames covering my hands I was able to bypass the Kryptonian's yellow-sun-powered invulnerability, at least enough to make the alien's nose bleed.

Der Ubermensch stumbled back under the assault, but suddenly he recovered and sent me flying into a brick wall. It really hurt, and I saw my life life flash before my eyes as Nazis Superman's eyes began to glow red. I would not survive this he would burn me to ash.

Suddenly, energy beams rained down on Der Ubermensch. Blackfire was here, but even she was no match for an evil Superman. Which proven when he used his heat vision to stop her energy beams. However the two alien powerhouses were for a few moments locked in combat which gave me time to grab my new bolter and lightsaber. I was still hurting but I could at least stand and die like a man, and even better I could fire the gun.

"Use the blue setting" the Spazfrag666 advised me.

I pressed the blue button on the laser weapon and a matching coloured blade appeared. Which made me smile, but not as much as the sight of Third Reich Superman getting hit with rocket propelled explosive shells, as it distracted him enough that he ended up being hit by more energy beams.

Sadly that just seemed to piss him off more.

"Aw, hell," I muttered as the super powered alien Nazis used his formidable strength to block Blackfire's attack.

Then something dressed in white flew through the air over me and collided with the out of town Superman. Galatea was back, and she was kicking ass however I knew that she simply couldn't win.

"We've got to help her" I said to Blackfire.

"What about Stargirl" the alien princess replied "she's all alone and there's still a whole army out there

"Damn it!" I swore, yet again "fine go help her. I'll have to think of something".

I jumped on to my Spazfrag666, and found where the spare clips for the bolter were kept just as the bike flew itself so we could and try to help Galatea, which was weird to even think about doing.

For her sake it was a good thing I did, as Der Ubermensch had once more gotten the upper hand and was beating the crap out of Kara's evil clone by a fountain in the park. The sight got me mad enough to call up more demonic fire, and I sent a bolt of it right at the evil Superman. But it didn't seem to do more than distract him from he was doing. Somehow this version of Superman was more resistant to magic than the local version, and I had no idea why.

"Sie sind ein tapferer kind" the Kryptonian said to me.

"I am not a child" I told the Nazis, hoping that I had understood what the fascist Man of Steel had just said.

Suddenly Der Ubermensch was standing right in front of me and before I could react he had a hand around my neck. Then I was in the air as he lifted me up by my neck.

"Du wirst sterben" the Nazis told me.

That didn't require translation and not knowing what else do I used the laser sword the Spazfrag666 had been carrying, and I drove the laser blade into Nazis Superman's stomach by pressing the blue button once I had the device at the right angle.

Der Ubermensch crumpled to his knees, his mouth open in a silent scream and I could smell the burned skin although I couldn't understand why, at least not until I figured it out. The blue setting had to focus the energy beam using blue kryptonite, and that had allowed the blade to harm him like he was a mortal man or at least close enough not to make a difference.

Well that was how it seemed, at least until a push sent me into the nearby fountain. It barely hurt so I had at least greatly weakened the Nazis Superman.

Something that Galatea tried to use to her advantage. Only Der Ubermensch turned and planted his fist into the charging clone face, and act that seemed to knock her out clod.

He then looked over at me only to spit blood onto the ground, and once more fall to his knees. This signalled to me that I had a chance to finish this fight.

"Wie hast du..."

Der Ubermensch lifted his head up just in time to see me swinging my laser sword right at him. It would have connected only Der Ubermensch caught the weapon and tore it out of my grip. He then backhanded me, but again the blow was too weak to do me any real harm. At least not to someone as tough and as fast healing as me. Had I been a normal human that strike would have broken my jaw at least.

To make things worse the Nazis Superman seemed to be getting stronger. I didn't know how but I would bet my entire fortune that he was somehow healing himself. That wasn't something I couldn't allow. I had to kill the Third Reich's Man of Steel before he recovered.

DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA!

I opened up with the bolter and blasted Der Ubermensch until he was on his hands and knees. One of my shots had struck him the gut and I could see his alien blood staining the concrete slabs around the wreaked fountain.

Der Ubermensch, weakened by the magic, slowly began to lift his head to look up at his executioner.

"_Fm'latgh bthnk n'gha uaad"_ (Burn Body Death Spell)

My demonic fire hadn't had much effect, but the same couldn't be said for the power of the Old Ones. Der Ubermensch was incinerated from the inside, and he screamed as he died.

Once there was only ash left I dropped the ground and tried not to throw up. The smell had been horrible, but that wasn't what really made me ill. I'd executed a wounded man that I could have perhaps taken prisoner. Maybe I couldn't have contained him, even him magic, but I really shouldn't have given him such a gruesome death.

By the time I managed to stand up again Blackfire was swooping down and landing next to me.

"They're retreating" she told me "from what I've heard Batman was able to sneak on board this hoovering battleship and send out a retreat signal".

Trust the Dark Knight to find a way to end a war without spilling any blood. If only I was that skilled.

"What's that" Stargirl, who had just joined us, asked of me while pointing at the pile of ash.

"A Nazis version of Superman" I told her "I burned him".

"Oh" was all she said in reply, at least until Galatea started to stir "and what do we do with her".

For a moment I was tempted to see if I had enough magical power to finish her off too, but she had helped us and I'd didn't really want to kill anyone else.

"Just leave her here" I told Fire and Star "Let her go back to CADMUS, they can patch her up".

"I'm defecting" Galatea said as she got to her feet "I want to join you".

By now I was too emotional drained to be surprised by anything.

"You want to join the Justice League?" I asked.

Stranger things had happen, a lot of them within the last hour an hour in fact.

"Yes" she answered "but mostly I want to join you".

"Huh" was my intelligent and well thought out reply.

"I'm in love with you" Galatea then told me.

My response was to burst out laughing, and it only stopped when one of my possibly broken ribs made it too painful to keep going.


	20. Chapter 20

**Reviews**

**ImaRussian**

Yes a few people have taken note of Gothic's victory, but they also noticed that the immortal wasn't fighting alone. Without Galatea and Blackfire then Nazi Superman would have been the to reduce Gothic to ash.

Which is why the group that will be known as the 'Freedom Fighters' will be such a powerful team.

Yes Galatea's affections are a result of her having Kara's DNA. In JLU they had a psychic connection. Supergirl was dreaming about what Galatea got up to, and felt like she was doing those thing. Then Galatea got put into a coma by Supergirl. So it stands to reason, at least to me, that Galatea would have dreamed about what Supergirl was doing and also feeling like she was the one doing those things.

In my that would involve Kara having a relationship with Gothic. Due to the psychic connection Galatea would feel what Kara was feeling and that led to her having the same feelings. But until Kara left Galatea kept her distance.

I for one like the idea of the aline powerhouse being on my side. I've seen the movie My Super ex-girlfriend (at least I think that is what it is called) and rejecting Galatea could led to that sort of badness.

**Selias**

I'm glad to see someone else remembers that.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Dinner And A Show**

**The Watchtower – December 2002**

"Hey, Bats" greeted the Flash.

The two heroes were in the Watchtower, and Batman was actually just about to leave. Despite the busy day he'd had he still had things to do. Diana didn't let him cancel dates just because the world had been invaded.

Besides he'd done rather well today. He had sneaked his way on to the airship the Nazis had been using as a command centre during the invasion, and had not only tricked them into retreating thanks to some clever computer hacking, but he had also captured their leader, an alternate version of the man known as Vandel Savage. The immortal megalomaniac was by now locked up in a special prison meant to hold meta-humans.

Without Savage the extra-dimensional Third Reich had no leader. By his predictions they Nazis of that world would now enter a period of civil war that should keep them too busy fighting themselves to bother other version of Earth for many years to come.

Of course Gothic's defeat of the Nazis version of Superman was also a big factor to consider. Had the Ubermensch survived he could have untied the fascist government under his rule, and then they might have returned to wage war upon this world once more. Thankfully for the people of this version of Earth that was never going to happen.

However the victory itself was also worrying to the Batman. If the immortal could defeat any version of Superman it meant he could destroy Clark Kent as well. He might require help, but the Heir of Trigon had a habit of winning the loyalty of others. The Dark Knight would have to factor this into his plans for taking the immortal down should Gothic ever go rogue.

"Did you want something?" the Caped Crusader questioned.

"Where's Shayera?" the scarlet speedster asked.

Bruce didn't actually know for sure, but if he had to guess, which was something he hated doing, then she was most likely visiting a certain friend in Jump City.

"Why?" was Batman's reply.

The Flash shrugged before saying anything.

"I just figured she'd be here"

"She's gone to Jump City" the Batman told his friend.

The Flash frowned and then muttered something before more clearly saying.

"Oh, guess I'll have to update the odds without her".

The Batman's right eyebrow rose ever so slightly. Which for him was a very expressive expression, not that anyone could see it due to the cowl he wore.

"What odds?" the Dark Knight inquired.

He did know, but it was always good to get confirmation and besides he enjoyed making the Flash sweat a little.

"You know. The odds. The betting about Gothic"

The lone eyebrow went a little higher, and the Flash seemed to somehow sense it.

"It's a betting pool on all the women who have been... expressing an interest in him?" the fastest man alive went on to say.

"Oh" was Bruce's reply.

The Flash almost ran away at that point as he had just realised that two women who had been big parts of Batman's life were being bet upon. Making light of this situation would aggravate the Bat themed super hero. The Dark Knight was far more intimating than any other member of the League, and while he would never directly harm the Flash. The speedy fellow did know that Batman had both the resources and the intelligence to demonstrate his wrath in other ways. Like for example having Wally's beloved van towed away and crushed into a cube of metal.

"Well I'm outta here" West said as he turned around.

"Wait" ordered Gotham's Dark Avenger.

The speedster froze in the doorway, turned around and cringing slightly as Batman approached him, reaching into his utility belt.

"Hold out your hand" Bruce Wayne ordered.

"Yes sir" the Flash replied.

He felt something press into his hand, and the red clad hero dared to open his eyes. All he found was three neatly folded twenty dollar bills.

"Twenty on Raven" Batman stated.

The Flash blinked and stared at the three twenty-dollar bills in his hand.

"Uh, and the other two twenties?" he asked while staring at his hand.

"Twenty on Blackfire" Batman calmly told him.

The Flash just nodded. Betting on more than one person was fine as it wasn't really about the money.

"Twenty on Power Girl".

That last bet was so surprising that the Flash actually forgot to be intimated for a few moments.

"Power Girl?" he asked.

"Galatea has defected" was Bruce Wayne's reply.

Then with a billowing swirl of his cape, the Dark Knight was gone and the Flash was left wondering what Batman knew that he didn't.

**(Line Break)**

**Jump City – December 2002 **

"Home sweet home" my Spazfrag666 remarked as I parked in the garage

I was not so happy to be back, although I was grateful to be away from the Watchtower. The debriefing had been almost as stressful as the small war I'd been fighting in just this morning.

By the looks of things as I'd flow back towards my house, the city wasn't in much better shape than me. I'd healed all my wounds by now, but I was hurting in other ways. I just couldn't get the image of Nazis Superman burning to death out of my head. He hadn't looked much different than this world's Clark Kent, and there something toxic feeling about killing any Superman. In a twisted way I'd done what many super villains had only ever dreamed of doing.

"Now if you need me just whistle. I'll here you anywhere in this hemisphere" the motorcycle told me.

I ignored the bike and went to sit down in the living. That was when I noticed that in my hands I now held a bottle of whiskey. I didn't even remember picking it up.

"Rest in peace, Nazi Superman" I said as I took a long pull from the bottle "I hope your in a better place now".

I had no idea how much time past, as I'd stopped paying attention. At least until I sensed that I was no longer alone.

"So are you going to tell me what happened?" a voice asked.

I was sitting down so I couldn't see who had entered the room, but I knew that voice so I didn't need to look.

"Hello, Shay," I said softly "You're a little late."

I could have used her help this morning. The gods only knew what she had been doing. Although I had heard that Granny Goodness had launched another series of raids all over the east coast, just as she had about three months ago. In the end the bitch had done more damage to the Nazis than anyone else, so in a roundabout sort of way she had actually saved the world. That was rather funny.

"And you're hurting" was the alien's reply.

"Hence the aesthetic" I said while tapping the bottle in my hands.

I was starting to see the appeal of alcoholism.

"Do you really need to drink so much?" Shay asked

At the rate I was going I'd been drunk pretty soon. Which was the point really, so I didn't stop.

"I like the way you're avoiding the whole 'I killed someone today' thing" I said rather bluntly. "I did it. I killed Superman".

"What?" was her response.

Apparently she hadn't gotten all the information yet, not surprising really what with all the chaos. Earth had been invaded by two factions on the same day. It takes a while to sort out all the facts after a day like this.

"Alternate evil Nazi Superman" I explained "He was leading the attack I guess. I didn't have any way to contain him or to strip his powers so I burned him alive".

I'd killed people before. A few of Shay's people had died at my hands and even another human being. But those had been quick kills. Messy yes, but I'd never executed anyone before.

"He might have been an alternate version of the most powerful being on the planet, but I destroyed him anyway" I muttered.

Granted other people had taken part in some of the fighting, however I'd done it. I'd taken down the Man of Steel, and if I could do it one version then I could end the version native to this universe as well. That was terrifying to think about.

"Okay so that explains why your in such a bad mood" Shay said "but it doesn't tell me why Galatea is in the Watchtower talking to Superman or why Blackfire up there too stuffing her face with ice cream".

I just shrugged. I really didn't care.

"That's none of my concern" I told the winged woman.

Although I could hazarded a few guesses as to why those two women were up in the Watchtower.

"Tell me" Shay demanded as she took the bottle away from me "and stop drinking so much. I know it can't hurt you but it leads to trouble and you smell really bad".

Well she was the expert on that. Drunken mistakes that is.

"I'll go to bed" I said as I stood up with surprising ease "no correct that I'll shower then go to bed".

To be fair I did stink.

"You do that" Shay agreed "and be ready by eight. We're having dinner at Wayne Manor tonight".

This was the first I'd heard of it, but I was too tired to argue so I just nodded my head and stumbled into one of bedrooms. It may have been mine.

(Line Break)

**The Watchtower – December 2002**

Patrick Dugan, from behind the helmet of his S.T.R.I.P.E battle suit, glared at the evil notice on the board. Once he had finished examining the offensive document he sought out it's creator. The hero known as The Flash.

He loomed over the scarlet speedster menacingly, but yet for all his fire power he was only half as intimating as Batman had been earlier.

"All right, Flash, what's the big idea, putting odds on my daughter?".

They weren't even good odds. Which made it even worse.

"She's not going to end up with Gothic" Dugan added.

"Hey," The Flash replied, holding up his hands helplessly, "I **had** to set odds when someone placed a bet on her. Besides they were both Teen Titans and he'd be lucky to have a great lady like Stargirl is his life, and besides Gothic just got this sweet new ride. You know how teenagers are about stuff like that".

Patrick frowned, and recalled that his stepdaughter had mentioned that the immortal had a new bike and that she was going to get a ride. Also the bet was new, and there was way for Stargirl to be sure she'd get to ride on a flying motorcycle.

His eyes widened in realization, and he turned and thundered away.

"COURTNEYYY!" the mecha man shouted.

The Flash could only sigh, and then wonder how S.T.R.I.P.E had figured out that Stargirl had put herself into the running. After that he wondered what would happen if the guy in the battle armour ever found how much she had bet on herself being the winner. The Flash then spent some time thinking that Stargirl might be doing all of this just to wind her stepfather up.

(Line Break)

**Wayne Manor – December 2002**

"I'm still wondering how I got roped into this" I muttered between sips of a very sweet red wine "I don't really do fancy parties".

It was Shayera's fault of that there was no doubt, but I couldn't quite remember how she'd finally convinced me to put on the rented tux I'd forgotten to return and to come here for a posh dinner. At least I was able to dress somewhat causal this time. Bow ties might suit Matt Smith by they only made me feel like a dork, so I'd kept top button undone and my shirt untucked. Still I looked rather handsome according to Shay.

"Because you love me?" Blackfire suggested, while batting her eyes sweetly.

Given that I had already done the whole rebound thing with a certain blonde haired waitress, who was never going to speak to me again, it seemed that the alien princess had decided it was time to make her move. It was the only explanation for the dress she was wearing. If it was any more low cut her breasts would fall out. Which admittedly was working in her favour, as it was one hell of a view.

"Because you have good survival instincts?" someone then added from behind me.

I turned to see Shayera, who had just entered the room along with Stargirl and Galatea. They were all wearing rather low cut fancy dresses as well, and I got the impression that I was not here because Wonder Woman and Batman had wanted to the pleasure of my company during their very short notice dinner party.

"So what's this about?" I inquired "I feel like I'm being set up for something".

I felt not unlike a drowning man surrounded by hungry sharks, and I was a bleeding drowning man.

"You're being paranoid" the super heroine formally known as Hawkgirl assure me.

"I'm not paranoid" I replied "People are out to get me".

And I got the horrible feeling that a lot of those persons were in this room.

"Relax it's not that bad" Richard Grayson assured me as entered the large room along with this date, Barbara Gordon "Just let them have their fun".

Batgirl gently elbowed her boyfriend in stomach, which just confirmed my suspicions. I was being set up for something.

"Is this an intervention" I asked Blackfire.

Tamaranian's weren't knowing for being good liars. Well Fire was a good one, but she might tell me the truth.

"Grimplork" was all she had to say on matter.

I was about to ask about that when I saw what had upset the princess. Yet another dinner guest had arrived, and it was Raven. Who was also in a very expensive looking dress. A dark blue one to my complete lack of anything resembling surprise. And that was the only thing not shocking about her sudden return.

For a moments no one said anything I waited for us to come under attack because the sense of drama in this universe would allow nothing else. When nothing at all happened I concluded the PTBs must have gotten today's allotment of amusement from the Nazi invasion. There wasn't so much as a power cut.

"I guess were just waiting for Talia and Selena now" I said before swallowing all of what remained in my glass.

Then with grace I grabbed another glass as Alfred walked by with a tray of drinks. Once I'd done that I asked him a very important question.

"How big is the window in the nearest bathroom?"

"Far too small to climb out of, Sir" the butler replied.

"Drat" I cursed "and I bet Batman left orders that no one here is allowed to be teleported up to the Watchtower"

"I should think so, Sir" Pennyworth said as starting moving around the room.

"What is she doing here?" Blackfire then asked me.

There were a lot of females in the room, but I assumed she meant Raven.

"How would I know" I told the princess "I went for a lie down about lunch time, and the next thing I knew Shay was dragging me here".

Blackfire tugged on my arm and we moved over to the corner of the room were we would be partly shielded by a large house plant.

"I didn't know she'd be here" the alien princess assured me "this is all because of some stupid betting".

Not for a moment did I think that Wonder Woman or Batman would arrange this just to win a bet. They might however do this in order to try and put me together with one girl as that would at least calm things down.

"Do the escape plan" Blackfire then ordered.

"What?" I asked.

"You always have a plan" she replied "let's escape and just go hide somewhere. Me and you".

So transparent. She wanted to win. But her idea would at least allow me to avoid sitting down to dinner with all these single ladies.

"Give me a second and hold on to my arm" I told the sexy Tamaranian "I'm going to try to teleport us home. It might not work and Raven will just follow so if it does work we had to the garage and jump on my Spazfrag".

It was time for a little R'lyehian magic.

"_Ch' agl wgah'n_" I started to say, only I was interrupted.

"Dinner is served" Alfred declared in firm but not loud voice that somehow cancelled out all other noise in the room.

That was when Stargirl grabbed my other arm and dragged me into an even bigger room that had a splendid spread set upon a massive dark wood table. There were even candles lit, and relaxing sounding music playing in the background. Clearly this was all Wonder Woman's idea or at least that was what I assumed as she was smiling at me right now.

Damn these female conspiracies, they really did rule the world. The battle of the sexes had been lost long ago and the men didn't even know we'd stopped fighting. What fools we all were.

"I went to hell and back with that woman, and this is my reward" I complained so softly that only Blackfire heard me.

She giggled, and I felt a little sad that no one took my death very seriously. However I put that aside and sat down at the table, while making an effort to look at anyone.

There was some general chatter, but if any of it was directed at me then I didn't hear it as I was too busy loading my plate which was a little tricky as Galatea was across from me and her breasts were very distracting. How she managed to fit them into such a tight dress was a mystery.

Also as an added bonus it gave me a reason not to look at Raven. Not that I really needed a reason as she didn't seem to be paying me any special attention. Which confused me.

"See anything you like?" Stargirl asked me from the chair on my left.

I shook my head before answering since it needed clearing.

"Sorry, what?" I asked in return.

"You've been staring at the food" she informed me "so there must be something you want to eat".

Actually I hadn't, but she didn't need to know that. Assuming of course that she didn't know exactly what had my attention. I guessed that she did in fact know as her hand was now on my knee and it was going to move towards my crotch if I was any judge. Not a very subtle seduction, but at least it was honest.

I started to eat, and to think about how I could escape from this nightmare, and where I could go even if I did somehow vanish. I could try to flee this dimension. There had to be a way given all the universe hopping that went on around here, but any method I did use could be used to follow me.

It looked rather hopeless as I was currently surrounded by very powerful women, and assuming I wasn't mistaken they were trying to trap me in a relationship with one of them. If I made a mistake here things could end up with me being torn apart by fighting females.

That was when a series of brilliant thoughts went through my mind. If I couldn't hid then I just keep running. There was a whole world to explore, and I'd never really finished my road trip. I could just keep travelling, see the sights and fight crime in strange new lands.

Now the only problem was escaping this room. I thought about creating a distraction using the toys I had hidden on person. However Batman would be ready for that. Raven, who seemed to be making an effort not to look at me, would be able to counter my magic. So I had to do something very unexpected.

Which I did. I suddenly got, jumped over the table and ran like hell out of the room before anyone could react. I then whistled so that my Spazfrag666 would come and pick up me. And it did with surprising speed.

Aside from the bit when I'd tripped over my own shoelaces I'd gotten away clean, if anyone had bothered to chase me they never caught up.

"Run, Forest, Run" I said for some reason as I took the skies.

I was going to run like no one had ever run before.


	21. Chapter 21

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Harem**

**Safe House – Jump City – December 2002**

Galatea, now also known as Power Girl, cocked her head to one side as she stared at the television.

"I don't get it" she remarked.

"Get what?" Blackfire asked as she finished what had to be her third cup of coffee in a row.

They were only watching a day time TV soap opera, so the plot wasn't that hard to follow. Which meant that something else was confusing Galatea.

"Why he ran away" Galatea said while still staring at the television "Did I do something wrong?"

Blackfire studied the artificially aged alien before answering.

"I think we all scared him. It was nothing you did. He was just overwhelmed I guess".

It hadn't been much fun for Blackfire either and she'd been in on the plan.

"Men fear commitment" the princess from another world went on to say "and we were sort of pressuring him, but he'll calm down and come back. I'm sure of it".

Galatea was not comforted by those words.

"I didn't get to finish the seduction training course" Power Girl went on to say "but I gave him the signals and he looked at my breasts".

Blackfire muted the television as she once more went over what had happened at the dinner party.

"Guys look at breasts, and sometimes girls do to" she told her fellow alien babe "it doesn't really mean anything".

"Do you?" Galatea asked her "Look at breasts, I mean".

"Of course" the princess from another world said "but bisexuality is normal on my planet".

The orgies sort of made it mandatory anyway.

"So it's okay to like girls too?" Galatea asked.

"Yes" was Fire's reply "and while we're on the subject of breasts I have to ask: Are yours getting bigger?".

Galatea looked down, and studied her cleavage for a moment.

"You know, I think they are. How did that happen?"

"I can think of a reason." Blackfire muttered.

She had been able to figure out why the fridge had contained that bitter milk. Kara's breasts had gotten bigger before the milk had made its appearance, she'd put two and two together and gotten her answer.

"We're going to have to get you some serious support for those things" she said to Power Girl.

"Is there something wrong with having large breasts?" Galatea asked.

"No, nothing wrong" Blackfire assured her "You're just going to need a big bra. Normal clothes aren't like your uniform. You need something to support your girls".

The door then opened which led to Power Girl and Blackfire sitting up in anticipation. Sadly there hopes were dashed.

"So what were you two talking about?" Raven asked of Galatea as she entered the living room.

"The size of my breasts and girls liking other girls." Galatea said before asking a question of her "Does the size of a woman's breasts really matter?"

"Yes" was Raven's answer.

"Do you want bigger ones?" Galatea then asked of the other two women in the room.

"Nah, I like mine just fine" Blackfire said.

"Mine are bigger now" Raven answered "it was part of my employment benefits package".

She never would have guessed that the forces of Cosmic Balance offered magical boob jobs along with life extension. The forces of both light and darkness had a lot to learn about offering intensives.

"So... about this shopping thing. How long does it normally take?" was Power Girl's next query.

Before Raven had left the three women had been discussing making a shopping trip.

"That depends on who is doing the shopping. For me, maybe an hour. For Raven well that's a whole other story." Fire told her. "We'll get you sort out. Assuming any of us have money".

One of the downsides of having their mutual love interest away was that they couldn't get money from him.

"I robbed him" Raven told the other two "he had a few thousand dollars in desk draw for some reason".

For the immortal three thousand dollars was the petty cash he kept around to cover household expenses, or to be more precise it had been Kara's house keeping budget.

"Isn't that illegal" Power Girl inquired.

She'd only joined the Justice League, but she was pretty sure that stealing was a crime.

"I'll pay him back" the daughter of Trigon promised "My bosses gave me some gold and jewels to help me get settled, I just don't have anyway of turning them into cash but I'm sure Gothic will find a way".

The servant of Cosmic Balance then decided to pass on the message she'd actually hurried back here to give.

"Your fake ID is sorted out" Raven told her new friend "Your name is now Karen Kent".

"So I have a real identity" Galatea said happily only for her mood to shift. "Karen sounds good, but why that last name?"

Power Girl had nothing against the Kent family, she just wanted to be her own person.

"It's easier to add you to an existing family" the magic user explained "and the Kent's were happy to do it. Your Kara's older sister whose been attending college for the last few years. You could get a really good job with the fake decrees you have".

Had Karen known the truth of her origins, she might have been amused about being thought of as her own mother's older sister. As it was she just found it a little annoying.

"Let's go clothes shopping" Blackfire declared "you both need more clothes".

Or Galatea's case any clothes. She only had her uniform.

"Can we go out like this" Karen Kent asked while gesturing to the outfit that showed her to be Galatea.

"This is Jump City" Raven replied "they're used to super heroines at the mall".

Well 'used to' might not be the right wording, but as long as Starfire wasn't here they wouldn't draw too much attention. Assuming of course Blackfire didn't start miming about underwear like her sister used to.

(Line Break)

**Hidden CADMUS Base – December 2003**

"What do you mean she's gone?" Amanda Waller said as her meaty fist hit her desk.

"Exactly that" Professor Hamiltion replied "She's gone. Galatea has defected to the Justice League and she's now calling herself Power Girl for some reason. And it's not just her, all of our records about her have been deleted too. I suspect she did it".

The leader of CADMUS looked as if she might have a stroke, but the moment past and she started to calm down. This news wasn't as surprising as it sounded. Galatea had been acting odd recently, she'd been experiencing moods swings and people on the base had seen her talking to herself. Perhaps they all should have paid the clone more attention.

"What about the self destruct?" Waller then asked.

Hamiltion grimaced as the memory of ordering Galatea's death. It had been one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. Thankfully it hadn't worked.

"We triggered it" Hamilton told his rather dangerous boss "but she is still alive as far as we know, so she must have found a way to remove the device. Perhaps the League helped her".

How Galatea had even known about the small explosive device that had been placed inside her brain was a mystery to the scientist, not that he was sad about that as he hadn't wanted Galatea to die.

"Find her" Waller commanded "If she's still alive then I want her brought back here".

How exactly he was suppose to do that was yet another mystery to the lab coat wearing man, but there was nothing he could do other than nod his head.

"Then find out what the hell happened! Our most valuable assets are gone. Years of work, wasted!" Waller fumed before she once more was able to calm herself down "We can get another sample. Grow a new clone."

The professor was unable to hide his reaction, he visibly winced upon hearing those words.

"There's something your not telling me" Waller accused.

Hamiltion seemed to deflate before the glare of 'The Wall'.

"Galatea isn't a clone" he confessed "Kryptonians can't be cloned. Bizarreo and Doomsday are just two examples of countless failures. Galatea is actually the daughter of Supergirl and Superman. I can't replace her because I extracted reproductive material from Supergirl when I performing surgery upon her. It happened just after Superman was brainwashed by Darkside. I was able to obtain some of Superman's DNA while he was in custody and I used that to trigger fertilization. Galatea might have been grown in a lab, but she is not a clone".

Waller wanted to slam her face into the table due to all the frustration she was feeling, but she was able to keep her cool. At least somewhat.

"So we were damn lucky to get the original samples!" Waller said" And the last thing we need is another Doomsday or Bizzaro!".

The leader of CADMUS spent a few moments thinking before saying anything.

"We'll focus on the Ultimen. Make sure things are stable with them, that the necessary genes are grafted correctly without a chance of mutation. They're our best shot to counter the Justice League now".

Waller knew it wouldn't be that simple, but what else could she do. CADMUS was running out of time. They'd blown their budget, their own really asset was lost and support for the project was fading.

That was when there was a knock at the door, and without being invited to enter General Eiling walked into Waller's office. The leader of CADMUS noted that he looked happy about something.

What had him smiling was quickly explained via some video footage. It showed a rather minor member of the Justice League utterly destroying an alternate version of Superman.

"Who is he?" Waller wanted to know.

"He's called Gothic" General Eiling told her "He was a member of the Teen Titans for a time and for a while he even led the group. Now he is with the Justice League but he's not an important member. And despite what we just saw he's not just a magic user either, he's an immortal with a range of combat skills and he has access to advanced technology".

The name seemed familiar to 'The Wall' and she partly recalled a meeting were recruiting 'The Immortal' had been discussed. However the idea had been tabled due to Hamilation who had studied Gothic in some detail and had told the group that he wasn't worth perusing. Clearly the scientist had been wrong about the young man.

"He was involved with Supergirl before she vanished" the military man went on to say "it's a shame Galatea is AWOL, other wise we could have used her to bring on our team".

That was the professor realised that it might be the other way around. Galatea had a mental connection to her mother, one she lost recently, so she may have gone to Gothic and he could have turned her.

"He was also involved with the failed mission to recapture Ace and to infiltrate the Teen Titans" Hamilaton added, in order to make sure the subject was changed "We know that he helped to defeat Deathstroke and he may have also killed Deadshot, but we can't be certain about that".

In Waller's opinion anyone who was capable of killing the world's two best assassins and an alternate version of Superman was definitely worth her time.

"Can you clone him?" Waller asked of the Professor "I know that replicating meta-humans has it problems, but I can get you more resources if you need them".

She hadn't yet exhausted all the favours she was owned, and Lex Luthor would be more than happy to refund a venture that could led to the death of Superman. Heck he might do just for a copy of the video footage.

"We could try and recruit him" the General said, before the professor could reply to the question "According to our agent he's not that popular with the League, and he's shown some interest in Tala. He freed her from that mirror she got herself stuck in".

The witch Tala had proven to be a disappointment, for all her power she wasn't that bright and she was easily controlled, mostly by her own sex drive it seemed. However that might work in CADMUS's favour for once.

"We'll do both" Waller decided "send Tala to try to bring him over to our side, and have clone ready as a backup. If this Gothic can kill a copy of Superman that he might make a good leader for the Ultimen. If we have to then make a hundred of him".

An army of immortals, now that was an interesting idea.

"Get to work" 'The Wall' commanded.

The two men nodded and then left the office. Once they were gone Waller sat back in large chair and smiled. Things were looking up for her. Maybe they could still win.

(Line Break)

**Museum – London - December 2002 **

As I heard the soft footsteps I straightened my new jacket, which was much shorter than my normal coats, and sorted out the collar of the unbuttoned shirt I was wearing, as I wanted to make a good impression on the woman heading my way. I even took the time to check that my shoe laces were done up.

"How about we have a little competition" I said to Selena Kyle as she dropped down onto the roof.

Catwoman was startled by my words as she hadn't expected to see me here, and there was no reason for her to have as she hadn't known I was even in London.

Finding her had been mere chance. I'd visited this museum earlier today, and had spotted her the crowd. To a trained detective, which I sort of was, it had been obvious that she had been casing the joint for a job. Even a few of the guards had noticed, but Selena had disappeared before they could do anything about her.

It had also been obvious, at least to me, what she was after. The Egyptian exhibit had a cat statue proudly on display, and while it was plain old stone it was thousands of years old and feline in shape. I'd known that Selena would be back for it, and that she wouldn't wait for long.

"I didn't think I'd see you again so soon" Catwoman said while walking towards me.

Me neither.

"Well you didn't win the auction, so I thought I'd spend sometime with you for free" I told her "My little gift".

That made her laugh.

"So this isn't just a booty call" she remarked.

I shook my head before saying.

"How about we spend some time together before we get to your booty.

It was a damn fine booty, no one could deny it.

"The person that takes the statue the first without setting off the alarm gets a favour from the loser, preferably a favour of the sexual kind" I said, stating the terms of the proposed deal.

If Catwoman was surprised by my words she hid it very well. In fact she seemed rather delighted by them.

"Challenge accepted" she stated with a wicked smile.

With that the thief jumped down the hole I had made in roof with my lightsabre just before she had arrived.

"By all means, ladies first" I said.

I jumped down after her and used a spell I'd learned ages ago to slow my fall. I landed with a lot of grace considering how much I weighed.

"This is where the fun begins" I then muttered.

That was when I was treated to quite the show. Selena pounced, springing from all fours and straight through the air as she dove between a gap in the laser grid. She then performed a brief handstand supporting her weight with only the tips of her fingers before pushing off straight up and seeming to high-jump over a beam of infrared light five feet above the ground. I could see the beams because of the special shades I wore. But she only had her goggles and they didn't looked to be enhanced with either magic or technology so I had idea how she knew where the beams were. Yet somehow she did.

Pulling her body through the gap purely with leg strength and a sense of balance that would make a world famous ballerina really jealous, Catwoman then pirouetted on her toes before turning her back towards the statue and bending backwards through a square hole made by the lasers. Landing on her hands she did another headstand, then she pulled her legs up together, before pulling her knees to her chest while still holding her perfect handstand. Somehow.

After doing all of that she turned to look at me and winked. I smiled back and muttered the words of an Old One spell which switched the priceless statue for a worthless lump of rock that I'd had in my pocket. The plaque below the glass case told me the exact weight of the object I wanted to steal and what I had replaced it with weighed the same. So I wouldn't set of any alarms caused by a change in mass. Not that I thought there were any. This wasn't exactly the Tower of London.

Now Selena was rolling forward and had slid her hands, head and upper body through another small gap. Her agility was very impressive but sadly for her it was all for naught as I had the statue in my hands.

When she found the stone she turned and I waved the statue at her.

"That's cheating" Catwoman complained, while pouting at me rather adorably.

"You can have this" I said "I don't have any use for it. I just wanted the sexual favour".

And I now knew exactly what sexual favour I wanted.

"Well I still say you cheated" she said to me once she had gotten past the lasers for the second time.

"So, does that mean you are going to go back on our bet then?" I asked "I mean I never said how we had to get to the statue. I just said we had to take it without setting off the alarms".

Which I had.

"Ah, but I wanted to win." Selena complained while also pouting more.

I thought the matter over before saying.

"We could talk about it in my hotel room" I offered.

She very much liked that idea, and I considered myself to be single, at least for now as I might not get a choice in matter, but until then I was going to enjoy myself a little.

**Coffee Shop – Jump City – December 2002**

Across the pond and then some three women sat down to enjoy a coffee. It was only evening here so the place was still open.

"This is nice" Karen commented as she sipped something called a mocha "we have to come here again".

It was a nice coffee shop. Raven remembered coming here on poetry night, which had been Thursdays. That felt like a very long time ago and the establishment had changed hands since then, so it was decorated differently. Still it was pleasant to be back in the real world.

"So are we going to talk about him" Blackfire then said "I mean we've been avoiding the subject for hours now. I'm fed up of not talking about him. Where is he?"

"London" Raven informed her.

That stopped Blackfire from talking any further, so the daughter of Trigon decided that now was the time to make her proposal.

"I've been thinking about what we could do to help Goth make up his mind and chose us over anyone else".

In her view it was a brilliant scheme.

"We form a polyfidelity and agree to be sexually active only with other members of the group. There's no way he can resist having three girls willing to have sex with him and maybe each other while he watches".

Power Girl had a much more limited understanding of relationships and so had to ask.

"Is that like a harem?"

She'd read enough books to have an idea of what the involved, or at least what other people thought it involved.

Raven nodded before saying.

"You could think of it that way".

"Is this so we don't kick your ass like Kara did?" Blackfire inquired.

That actually was part of the reason, it was just that the magic user hadn't want to admit it. With all she'd learned during her time away, she might be able to take Fire down, but if Galatea was anything like Supergirl than Raven would get her ass kicked yet again.

"It's so we won't fight, yes" the servant of Cosmic Balance said "and united we can scare off any competition".

Even with the League of Shadows backing her up Talia al Ghul wasn't going to able to claim the immortal. Not if he had three powerhouses already sharing his bed.

"What about Stargirl?" the alien princess wondered "I got the impression that's mostly going after Goth to annoy her stepfather, but she might not give up so easily".

Raven had considered that as well.

"We'll invite her to join. If she's serious she'll say yes but if this just her way of winding people she'll back out".

That or S.T.R.I.P.E would put his foot down and settle the matter. Either way was fine with Raven.

"So would be all be sleeping in one bed" Karen Kent wanted to know "because that would be okay with me".

The spell caster just raised an eyebrow in reply, at least until she found an answer for the question.

"No" she said "we'll have our own bedrooms"

When no one said anything for while Raven decided to explain things in more detail.

"I think the situation with CADMUS will be over soon, and when that happens the Teen Titans will be reformed. Then we'll all move to a different city and form our team. At least that's the most likely thing to happen in this time line".

The goddess Raven served wasn't all knowing, but she was pretty close and had foreseen the future that would take place if Gothic decided to accept having harem. Which was almost certain to happen, you didn't need to see time lines to know that a man with an intense sex drive would want a harem. He just had to say yes.

"But it's best if Goth thinks it's his idea" Raven went on to say "and it's better overall if we let him assume the leadership role in this four-way relationship. If nothing else it will sooth his ego".

Which did need soothing to be fair.

"Were you always this evil" Blackfire asked "I'm sure I used to be the manipulative bitch around here. Now your the girl with all the schemes to control people".

Raven was a little offended by that. She served Balance, not the forces of darkness thank you very much.

"I'm not trying to manipulate him" she protested "I just want to guide him down a certain path so he'll be happy".

And so he wouldn't try to take over the world. That couldn't be allowed because unlike the other megalomaniacs in the world Gothic could actually end up ruling over the Earth as a tyrant because he he didn't have the flaws of most would be world conquerors.

"I think it's a good idea" Power Girl said, giving her opinion on the matter "It will led to sex".

Galatea didn't fully understand why she was intensely drawn to the immortal, but she did want him very badly. It actually hurt her not to be with him. And she was thinking about sex, a lot, and for some reason it seemed very important that he suckle on her nipples.

"Okay I'm in" Blackfire decided.

"And I'll be keeping an eye on you" she went on to warn Raven "I've done that whole manipulative bitch thing and never really works out".

The spell caster just shrugged. In her view there was a big difference between gently guiding some down the right path and controlling them. For her it was like the difference between being a teacher and being a dictator.

"Now we just have to find him and make the offer" Raven said "I know he's in London, but not much else".

That was because she was having a hard scrying for the man she considered to her boyfriend. His powers were growing it seemed.

"Maybe I could go and talk to him" Fire offered "he's not mad at me and I don't remind him of Kara. If I go and just tell him what we want he'll like that. I think being honest would work best. And if has any conditions I can come back and tell you about them".

The other women well remembered that the plan to more subtly make the immortal chose a girlfriend had not gone so well. They didn't want to scare him off so sending Blackfire to negotiate was a smart move.

"We'll wait here" Raven said "I need to unpack anyway and we have enough room for Karen to have her own bedroom so we can set that up while your in London".

A making a few more arrangements, were made and then the three women got to work. They had a lot to do.


	22. Chapter 22

**Reviews**

**Dark0w1**

It's only 97,804 words won't take that long, lol.

**war sage**

Thank you.

**jack**

I hope it was worth waiting for.

Joe Lawyer

Well it's Raven's evil plan to get back in her boyfriend's good books. Blackfire used to have her own harem so the idea isn't that strange to her. And as for Galatea well she's never had relationship so she doesn't know how odd it is for a guy to have a harem.

There will be no such provisions. The purpose of the harem is to drive other ladies away from Gothic. Not that he'll mind too much as if you have three girlfriends then there will be no time for other women.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Plans**

**Private Residence – The Middle East – December 2002  
**  
The man was fluid in motion, as he dodged one attacker and then used one the trained assassins attacking him to block the assault of another. He moved with the kind of skill it took a life time of practice to achieve, but he had the body of a young man in his late twenties or early thirties, thanks to the frequent use of the Lazarus Pits.

Ra's al Ghul tossed around the killers in his employ as he finished his daily workout. He knew where every attacker was, and what they were going to do before they had even decided to take action. It was too easy to win, but winning wasn't really the point this was just exercise.

The quiet opening of a door on the other side of the large room coincided with the defeat of the last assassin. The Demon's Head almost effortlessly disabled the warrior, and sent him to the ground after only a few blows.

Ra's stopped, and stood stock still, this signalled the end of the workout and those assassins who could stood, then bowed, and left the room. The ones still on the ground were left there as had proven themselves unworthy this day. Their fellows would not help them up.

The head of the League of Shadows then turned to the see his daughter. He walked towards her as two of his servants met him with a towel and a glass of water that was flavoured with just a hint of lemon.

After the small amount of sweat away with the towel, he gave it back to the servant, and took the glass from the second servant. He then began sipping the refreshing beverage.

Talia al Ghul stopped and bowed gracefully towards her father. She then stood still, waiting to be addressed. She would not speak until invited to as that was the rule, even if she sometimes didn't follow it.

Ra's al Ghul signalled for his child to walk with him, as he made his way out of the room.

"How was your trip, my daughter?" Ra's questioned as he walked through a door and into a living room of the house they were currently staying in.

The Demon's Head was referring to the trip Talia had taken to Aspen along with her new beloved. It had been a rather expensive way to improve her mood. Talia had spent one hundred thousand dollars just to get the immortal's attention, however given the number of contracts for assassination the League received on a daily bases then that money was not a great loss.

"It went well, father" the daughter of the Demon's Head reported "Gothic

was quite attentive".

Not long ago Talia's true love had rejected her for Wonder Woman, and that greatly upset Ra's daughter. It seemed that she had at last given up on the detective, as had Ra's.

"You asked me to notify you about my beloved's actives Father," Talia stated as she followed dutifully after her sire.

"Ah yes I assume you have news of some sort?" Ra's stated as he poured himself a strong drink, making use of the room's bar.

Ra's doubted that this report would be more interesting than the last two such updates. The immortal hero had been a busy person. He had utterly destroy an alternate version of the world's mightiest hero. And while that did demonstrate the boy's power it also worried the Demon's Head.

He wanted his successor to led humanity into the future, however he was unsure just how human Gothic actually was. He was no meta-human that was for sure, but perhaps the boy was not as much of a man as he might appear. Ra's wanted a human heir, he did not want a super human freak leading his organisation. That was why he had sought out those who surpassed the rest of the humanity but were still human. Men like Slade Wilson and Bruce Wayne.

On the other hand Gothic was immortal, truly immortal in fact, and having an heir that would depend on the Lazarus Pits to extend his life was most appealing. Besides if his strange powers were truly just a clever use of arcane forces, then that didn't Gothic was no longer human. He could be persuaded to abandoned the use of such dangerous abilities should they threaten to transform him into some inhuman.

The other report had been more assuring. Apparently the young immortal had broken into a museum in London along with Catwoman to steal a priceless statue that had no occult powers. Ra's was comforted by this because it was very normal for a young man to show off in front a pretty woman, and that was exactly what that incident had been about.

"My beloved disarmed a mugger in London just last night" Talia stated clearly.

Something about the way Talia had said 'disarmed' drew the attention of the Demon's Head.

"Disarmed?" he asked "in what way

"According to the agent we have watching him my beloved made use of a glowing red blade of some sort and used to separate the criminals arm from the rest of the body. Our agent visited the hospital and found that the stump was fully cauterized " Talia reported "the agent then went on to compare the weapon to a lightsabre".

Ra's al Ghul was not as naïve about popular culture as most would think. He knew what a lightsabre was what having a red coloured blade meant.

"Interesting. Is there anything else to report?" he questioned while walking around to a lower seated couch and reclining.

Just then a servant entered with lunch and set the platter down on a low table before Ra's al Ghul. The Demon's Head than began to nibble on the food. Talia however remained standing, and did not partake of anything.

"I also received another report on Gothic".

All the men who worked for the League of Shadows knew to report anything they found out about the immortal directly to Taila. The Demon's Head trusted his child to tell him anything important she learned about her new beloved. The details of their relationship were not his concern, he had no desire to learn how Talia was seducing the boy.

"Our agent with CADMUS tells me that the leaders of that group have taken an interest in my beloved".

Now that did interest the near-immortal. CADMUS could not be allowed to get their hands upon his heir. Gothic was growing more powerful all the time, and with his might added to theirs CADMUS could defeat the Justice Leauge, and that would once more make the United States the most powerful force on the planet.

"We can not allow this" the Demon's Head stated "he belongs to the League of Shadows".

The fact that Gothic actually belonged to the Justice League was not pointed out by Talia, not that it really mattered as she knew that her beloved was not exactly happy in his current line of work. That he hadn't quit didn't surprise her either, young men like him needed time to find out what they were really meant to do with their lives. She was happy to give him that time, and to let him amuse himself with younger women. He would belong to her in good time.

"What can we do, father?" Talia wished to know "CADMUS is a powerful group, if we strike at them directly it could begin a war".

A war between the League of Assassins and CADMUS could destroy either or both groups, the outcome was uncertain.

"You know him best, my daughter" Ra's said to his child "so tell me what could we do to turn the boy against CADMUS".

Talia didn't need long to think the matter over.

"He has an streak of independence" she told her parent "and he resents attempts to control him. If our spy within CADMUS could somehow change the orders of the group's leaders so that their attempts to recruit him into that organisation involved abducting him, then he would never voluntary join them".

Amanda Waller was found of using blunt force methods, but she could be subtle when she needed to be, however the soldiers under command would not question things if they thought she had ordered them to bring the young immortal under her control using force.

"An excellent plan my daughter" the Demon's Head praised "I shall command our agent to falsify orders, this will be discovered in time so I shall also have him removed from CADMUS. After a little sabotage, so that his tracks are covered".

Ra's al Ghul sat back in his and smiled. Things were proceeding according to his design, and this was good.

(Line Break)

**Apollo 11 Landing Site – The Moon- December 2002**

_Hello my friend, we meet again. _

_It's been awhile, where should we begin? _

_Feels like forever. _

_Within my heart are memories _

As the Spazfrag666 settled upon the surface of the moon I turned off the music player. Which was about the only thing I had control over as the bike still refused to let me to pilot it. According to the AI letting me drive the motorcycle would be like me letting a Neanderthal fly a F-16. Which was very insulting.

"So why did you want to come here?" the Spazfrag666 inquired of me in Kara's voice.

Hearing my lost love's voice didn't bother me any more, not since the bike had explained that Kara had copied her neural net not to remind me that the real her was gone, but so that she would in some way still be looking out for me, which was actually kind of sweet.

"I needed somewhere quiet to think" I told the flying motorbike

In space no one can hear you brood.

"And I wanted to play a prank" I then said.

Reaching down I unhooked the Welsh flag I'd brought with me and I planted it firmly in the rocky ground. The shield emitted by the Spazfrag666 allowed me to experience normal Earth conditions as long as I stayed on the bike so the metal rod made a noise as I did my work.

I had considered switching the American flag for the Welsh one, but I'd decided not to as it would be too disrespectful towards Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and the third guy who no one can remember. Still if anyone did ever investigate this place than having the flag of my nation of birth here would confuse them hell out of them.

Next I took the time to carefully collect some moon rocks, not just for myself but also as gifts for people who'd never been into space.

"What do you need to think about?" my bike then asked.

Mostly it involved Raven's idea of me having a harem. It was an inventive method to get back in my good books that was for sure. But there were a few things to considered before either refusing or taking the offer.

Namely Galatea, who was a clone of Kara. I didn't really wanted to replace Supegirl with Power Girl. On the other hand refusing her could be very unwise, and if nothing else having an alien powerhouse in my harem would be to my benefit. Plus she didn't actually look exactly like Kara and not just because she appeared to be older. There was something different about her. I couldn't put my finger on it, but she didn't seem to be pure clone. I'd asked Blackfire and apparently she did have a belly button, which they didn't then to have in fictional universes. And I was pretty sure that Raven would not invite a soulless replica to help her build a harem, as I did know that magic users found clones unsettling to be around.

"You wouldn't understand" I told the machine as I leaned against the bike.

The AI had extended the shield so that I had some room to stretch my legs, but this wouldn't last, and didn't cover much ground, and I didn't try to walk about in case I impacted the shield.

"I'm an AI" the Spazfrag666 reminded "Which makes me a person, and I have all of Kara's memories up until a few days before she left. So I do know you pretty well and I was created to help you, so talk to me mister".

I'd always had trouble saying no to that voice, and the bike knew that, so I told all about the offer Raven had made.

"Well I can see the biological me being upset if you were ever to tell her that you sex with her evil clone, even if she isn't really evil, but I am programmed to aid you seeking happiness. So I suggest saying yes to the deal, and going home. You can't live your life staying in hotel rooms and since you got me you can go on day trips whenever you want so you don't have to keep running. Besides Blackfire found you once which means she can do again, so you're not really hiding".

Those were good points, and she had more of them.

"And Galatea has HUGE BOOBS!"

That was a very good point. Those were indeed some massive mammaries I already wanted to smother myself with them. Which was reason enough to says yes.

"Why are you on the moon?" a voice then said.

I looked around expecting to see Ace until I remembered that the bike had a communications system, and that if she was physical here she'd need a space suit.

"To play a prank and to look for hidden moon bases" I replied.

There weren't any, and just by looking around I could see why. The moon was nothing more than a big lump of rock. There was nothing here. No Moon Men, no alien bases and it certainly wasn't made of cheese. Hopefully Mars would be more interesting.

"Wait a second how do you know I'm on the moon" I asked back.

Ace didn't take long to answer. Which was odd because there should have been at least a short delay given the distances involved.

"There's a homing device in your cool bike" the telepath told me "I guess Kara must have been planning to keep an eye on your when you went flying around".

I gave the Spazfrag666 a look, and the bike responded by saying.

"It's not like I installed it, and my protocols didn't allow me to tell you".

Well that was forgiveable. After all the bike hadn't programmed itself.

"Why does your space bike sound like Kara?" Ace then asked.

"It's a long story" I replied before changing the subject "so are you still mad at me?"

The young meta-human had not been happy when I'd sent her up to the Watchtower. Children, even teenagers sometimes don't understand why the adults who care for them do the things they do. I stood by my decision as it simply wasn't safe for her on Earth.

"That depends if I come home or not" she told me "I don't like the Watchtower. It's cold up here".

I hadn't noticed that, but then again I didn't spend much time up there. I wasn't required for monitor duty very often. In fact they didn't seem to need me much at all. I wasn't sure if I should be offended or not.

"It's still not safe" I pointed out.

Well it was now safer given that Raven was back, and Blackfire was an alien powerhouse in her own right, so even without Power Girl being around it would be very hard for anyone to grab Ace.

"Super-boobs 2 will look out for me" the teenage meta-human said.

Super-boobs 2, that was so not what I was going to call her. The name sounded more like the title of a porno than anything else.

"Your assuming I want her. I never said I was going home" I said to Ace.

Again it didn't take long for Ace to reply.

"It's not like you really broke up with Raven" the telepathic girl reminded me "She did say she'd be away for a few months".

That was true, but I didn't feel like I was with her any more.

"But I think she was gone longer" Ace then said "she looks older".

Given that I'd avoided looking at her the entire time I'd been at Wayne Manor I hadn't had the chance to notice. Besides she'd gotten all dressed up in fancy clothes, which could make a person look different than they normally did.

"And you should also say yes, because it will cost the Flash a lot of money" Ace went on to say.

"Say what?" was my reply.

Ace giggled before explaining.

"The Flash is running this betting pool on which your going to end up with. And Batman put money down on Raven, Fire and Power Girl. So if you go out with all three of them he'll have to give a lot of money to Batman".

That would be satisfying revenge for daring to turn my love life into something that could be gambled over. Plus I had run out on the Bruce Wayne's dinner party, which had been ready rude so I did owe him.

"I'll take the harem" I told Ace "and I'll come pick you up in a few hours".

With three super powered women around to help I was pretty sure that I could protect my little sister type person.

"Pick me up on your cool space bike" the excited meta-human requested "I'll go pack!"

All in all the pros outweighed the cons, but while I decided to accept the offer, that did not mean I had to do it sober. I'd have a few drinks to settle my nerves, and then I'd let the space bike fly me home.

"How can you have so much stuff inside these compartments?" I asked of Kara' artificially self.

There really was a lot of stuff packed inside this machine. Kara had thought of everything it seemed.

"TARDIS" she answered.

Oh well that made sense.

"So what your internal space..." I began to say

"No!" the Spazfrag666 shouted "There's a TARDIS here. It just materialised behind you".

I turned around and saw what seemed to be an Apollo landing craft, it's door opened and an astronaut made his or her way out of the craft. Then the figure started moving closer to me.

"Well this is weird" I commented as the being in a space suit somehow passed through the shield my bike had put up to protect me "Are you friend or foe?"

Rather than answer the entity lifted an arm, and then some light hit me. It really hurt.


	23. Chapter 23

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Collected**

**Inside A TARDIS**

When I woke up my head was pounding due to the after effects of the energy weapon I'd just been hit with, then again it may have had something to with the alarm and lights. Either some one was having one hell of a rave or something very bad was happening and given my life so far it was a safe bet that the second of those possibilities was the reality.

My body ached all over, but I ignored the pain as I knew my healing powers would kick and corrected the damage as long I didn't get myself hurt while trying to stand up. Which thankfully I didn't, so I was able to look around without trouble.

What I saw confused me. The room I was in was mostly empty. I'd woken up half on and half off some sort of stage, only really it was little more than a piece of the floor that was slightly elevated. It kind of looked as if I'd been on display only there was nothing in place to stop me from simply leaving the room as the door was open.

As the alarm stopped and the noise level lowered I started to walk around and noticed that there were spaces for what I guessed would be exhibits of some sort sort, only there was nothing on display just yet, only lots of boxes. An incomplete project I judged.

Out of nothing more than simply curiosity I opened one of the plain looking boxes and found a set of armour inside. I hadn't seen body armour made of such fine materials since I had last been in the Batcave, and while it was all in black I'd never seen Batman in a suit like this. Still it look sturdy enough, and given that I was in potentially hostile environment it seemed wise to protect myself. As an added bonus the pieces seemed to adjust size to fit my body. Clearly it was advanced stuff.

The rest of the boxes had some odds and ends in them, but nothing that looked useful just sombits of technology. Given that I had no clue what any of it I thought it unwise to go messing about with the gadgets. After all I was no tech expert. I could end up blowing myself up.

There were no weapons about, but that wasn't too bad as I was hardly helpless. I'd been trained in hand to hand combat by Robin, and I the only normal human beings who could match my strength were the kind of men who entered World's Strongest Man contests. Plus I had my magic, so even without my toys and guns I was a deadly fucker.

Seeing no reason to hang around I left the room and wandered down some corridors that didn't make much sense as there were no signs to point me on my way, there weren't even any numbers meaning I didn't even know what floor I was on. Given that I was most likely on board a TARDIS I quickly realised that I could keep wondering forever.

Thankfully I didn't and I soon found a room that confirmed my theory about me being turned into some sort of museum exhibit. I could only assume Karma was biting me in the ass for helping Catwoman steal that feline themed statue. I really had to stop thinking with my penis and try to settle down again. Having a harem ought to be interesting enough for the Traveller and his comic book series. But I could worry about that later.

The room itself was filled with things that did look familiar. It was almost as if this the Time Lord (assuming the space suit had contained a member of that race) had found a way to cross the void between realities and was now collecting items from different universes. This chamber looked to be full of props from the TV show Stargate Atlantis, only the things around me were not fake.

"I've always wanted one of those" I said as I picked up a Particle Magnum.

Any fan of the show would recognise this weapon as it was used often by Ronan Dex. It was one of the coolest sci fi guns ever, at least in my opinion. The Particle Magnum had the superficial appearance of a revolver, only it was in fact a sophisticated energy weapon.

The cylinder of the weapon was a power cell with a luminescent dome on the back. The cell would have a finite amount of energy, but could be removed in order to be recharge or it could be replaced with one of the spares that were on display. How the cells were recharged was something I didn't know, but I felt sure that someone in the League would be able to figure it out.

When it came to firing weapon it had three settings: stun, kill, and incinerate. The toggle to select the lethality of the weapon was on the barrel just in front of the cylinder, and the cylinder colour changed to indicate the setting. Which made it simple to use if nothing else.

I selected stun since as I didn't want to kill any of my fellow prisoners unless they proved hostile. I got the feeling that I was not the only 'guest' of this Time Lord due to the empty platform that was also in this room. I had no idea who or what had been standing there, or how they'd been restrained, but they were lose now and I was pretty sure that the being had taken items from this room as well.

To my lack of the surprise the next chamber was full of things from Stargate SG1, and this included a full loaded P-90 so I also snagged a back pack so I would have somewhere to store it, and I nearly grabbed some Gouald tech but then I remembered that I couldn't use it with having that naquadah stuff in my blood. On the hand most of it looked to be made from gold so I took some of it anyway.

The same could be said for the Ancient stuff in the next room. I lacked the gene, and without that I could use this stuff and it was so advanced I didn't think any human being would be able to backwards engineer it.

However given how big a TARDIS was on the inside I just knew that there would be many more chambers filled with a lot more treasure, and I knew I would need everything I could get my hands on if I had to take on a Time Lord.

My concerns were proven valid when I saw a truly bizarre sight. A Klingon Warrior in full armour and armed with a Bat'leth was fighting a Wraith, and by the looks of things the Klingon was winning. The warrior used his 'sword of honour' to defeat the life sucking alien, and I was given the impression that Star Trek really hadn't done this race justice. The Klingon was a formidable being.

However when a freaking Gorn entered the room we were in and batted the Klingon aside I knew I had to help him. I shot the alien twice with the stun setting, which only made the being stagger so I grabbed the fallen warrior's blade and then drove into the lizard's skull via one of its eyes. Which did kill it as even a Gorn needs a functioning brain to live.

The Klingon had only been disabled by the blow, and he recovered fast. I returned his sword to him as a gesture of trust, but also it brain matter on it and that was freaking me out a little.

"Kaplah" I said using the only Klingon word I knew to great the alien.

"Starfleet?" the warrior asked.

I shook my head, hoping that the warrior understood the gesture. I didn't know his language, as I'd never been enough of a nerd to learn it. That was something I was regretting now.

"Greeting, human. I am Karg son of Dorga"" the Klingon then said in completely understandable English " Our people are allies, human. We shall escape this prison together".

That was when I remembered that a TARDIS had a translation matrix that allowed people of different races and times to understand each other. I felt a fool for not recalling that tidbit sooner.

"I'm not from the Federation" I told the Klingon, knowing that it was dishonourable to lie "but I will fight by your side and there might be others who would join us".

The warrior raised his weapon and roared before saying.

"Only a fool would stand against two warriors such as us".

I took that as positive support for my proposal.

Moving together my new ally and I searched for more rooms, and we found the Star Trek museum, and I grabbed a tricorder, a comm badge, a hypospray and a phaser, then I put them in the bag I was carrying. The Klingon made no commented about my looting and took a disrupter for his own use.

The extra weapon came in handy as we got attacked by a rather nasty insectiod creature that may have been a thinking being, only we never found out as it got vaporised.

We did some more running, and stopped to kill a Xenomorph that almost killed us and would have if a Jedi Knight hadn't made a very brief appearance. The robe wearing hero didn't stick around for long, but I saw enough to know that it wasn't a Jedi from the films or at least not one famous enough for me to recognise.

The next room was very odd, nothing in it triggered any memories for me so I actually bothered to read the information offered by some sort of date terminal that was built into the wall.

"Who the hell is the Eternal Emperor?" I asked no one at all.

Whoever he was, or perhaps had been, he had good taste that was for sure. The coat on the mannequin was made of a strange fabric, but still it looked awesome on me as it was so Goth and the buttons were real silver. I couldn't be sure how good it looked on me without a mirror, but I knew that someone who called themselves Emperor would never wear anything that wasn't the best money could buy.

The next chamber contained stuff from Warhammer 40K. Thankfully it all looked to be Imperial, there was no way I'd touch anything that had been in contact with the forces of Chaos. I picked up a few things and examined them, and it wasn't until the Klingon demanded that we keep moving that I just grabbed a chainaxe off the wall and stashed it in the bag. I was carrying a little too much weight now so I decided not to take anything else. Well not unless it was really lightweight.

As we entered yet another room, which had nothing more than motorbikes in it, that was when I figured out that the Time Lord may have also brought my Spazfrag666. It wouldn't surprise me if it had been the bike that had gotten this collectors attention as it was a very advanced piece of technology.

I whistled and seconds later the bike with Kara's personalty came speeding towards us only to stop at my feet like a loyal hound at its master's feet.

"There you are" the flying motorcycle said "I've been waiting three weeks for you to call me".

"Three weeks!" was my shocked reply.

My head was now full of questions, but one took precedence.

"Why didn't you bust me out?".

Somehow the bike managed to look annoyed at me.

"I couldn't do anything" the Spazfrag666 told me "I was trapped too until something took down the security field. I could have blasted my out, but my programming prevents me from using my weapons unless your in direct danger or if there's an invasion. I guess Kara didn't imagine you'd get kidnapped by such a member of such an advanced race. The technology here surpasses even me".

If anything could surpass Kryptonian engineering then it would be Time Lord technology.

"I have some good news" the bike then said.

That was nice, as I could really do with some good news right about now.

"We haven't left our universe".

I wanted to know how the bike knew that, but such questions could wait.

"Okay we need a way off this TARDIS" I said "The Time Lord might be able to restore order and I don't fancy being a museum piece again".

"We will be taking your friend?" the Spazfrag666 inquired.

"I am Karg son of Dorga" the Klingon informed my ride "and yes I will come to your world. Captivity ill suits me".

Well I wasn't going to abandon someone who had fought by my side.

"I'm sure you will find a place in the Justice League" I assured Karg "lots of it members come from different worlds and they go into battle often".

"Perhaps they will take me as well" another voice then said.

I turned to see the Jedi Knight striding over to us.

"The more the merrier" I told him.

A Jedi Knight and a Klingon Warrior in the Justice League, that would be a sight to see. From a safe distance.

"I'm glad to hear you say that" the Force User then said "I encountered a gentlemen who is a solider of some kind. He called himself Christopher and claims to be a SPARTAN. He awaits us in the control room".

At this point I didn't think my day could get any weirder, but at least we had an ally in the control room.

"Any ideas on how we can escape?" I asked the group.

"The door to this craft is open" the Jedi Knight informed me "I saw many strange beings leaving. Some of them were dangerous, however I decided to try and seek allies here before going after them. It seems that I made the right choice".

Given that there was a Warhammer 40K room I could only imagine what horrors had been unleashed upon this world.

"God help us all" I muttered.

Right now I could do with his help.

"A true warrior knows that not all battles can be won alone" the Klingon commented "You were wise to seek us out. I will aid you in your quest to hunt down these threats".

Hopefully so would the entire League. He might need the help.

"I can take you to people who can help with that" I said to the Jedi "we just need to get in contact with them".

"Which I can do" the Spazfrag666 said "all the defences are down I can just call the Watchtower".

If a lot of dangerous creatures were now lose on Earth then the League might be on their way already.

"We should make for the exit first" the Jedi advised "we might run into more allies on the way".

That made sense and I let the Force User led the way. We made it to the control room of the TARDIS without incident and soon we were outside of it with the SPARTAN solider in tow.

Then the door of the TARDIS, which was disguised as a closed down newspaper stand, and the machine began to fade away.

"Odd timing" I muttered.

I could only assume the Time Lord must have somehow regained control of his or her craft from somewhere else in the TARDIS. Although it was strange that it happened as soon as I left the craft.

That was when I found out where I was. Which happened to be right in front of the Daily Planet building and normally mild mannered Clark Kent was looking at me with a very upset expression upon his face.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire" I moaned.

(Line Break)

**The Watchtower – January 2003**

"How much longer is he going to be in there" Galatea asked of Raven as the two of them waited outside the Founder's meeting room.

"About five minutes less than when you last asked" answered Raven as she peacefully levitated above the floor in a cross-legged position. "Maybe you should work on gaining super patience to go along with all the other super powers you Kryptonians have".

Which were many to say the least.

"I'm not really one of them," Galatea muttered "I have a little human DNA too. So that means I'm not a real Kryptonian".

Raven sighed and wished Blackfire was here, as the other alien powerhouse was better suited to dealing with personal dramas. The daughter of Trigon could handle her emotions to the point were she no longer feared hurting the people she was close to, but having spent the last few months in a monastery in Tibet had done nothing for her social skills.

"I know what's really upsetting you" Raven went on to say "and it's not that Goth disappeared for three weeks".

Well that was part why Karen Kent was sulking so much, but given that the immortal was back this should be a time for happiness.

"You're just going to have to deal with the fact that Hamilition lied to you" Raven strongly advised.

Power Girl was not ready to do that.

"But I was created and conditioned to be nothing more than a weapon," Galatea complained, feeling oddly cheated by this offhand dismissal of her identity crises. " And I was never a match for Kara, which I would be if I was a perfect clone, or better yet, a pure Kryptonian".

Raven sighed once again. She'd been trying to sense what was going on the next room, and Power Girl's whining was making that next to impossible.

"So you have some human DNA" the servant of Cosmic Balance replied "It makes a tiny fraction of your genetic makeup. I mean he's playing host to a spiritual fragment of my father, who was a demon that tried to kill me and all my friends. That's way more messed up than sharing a few genes. And it might be a good thing".

"How so?" Galatea asked with great curiosity.

By now Raven had given up trying to sense what the founding members of the Justice League were doing to Gothic behind closed doors. Hopefully it was nothing bad.

"Well Kara was worried about never having children, but if you have some human genes then you'll be more compatible. And since you've got adaptive DNA your biology might even change enough to let you get pregnant. Your kids would be hybrids but since your race mates for life you don't really have a choice in the matter".

Raven was no expert in physiology, but she had been listening during the League's briefing about Galatea and she had been able to draw conclusions from the information she'd been given.

"Well the genes did stop me from going crazy" Karen Kent admitted.

In this universe it simply wasn't possible to clone a Kryptonian, and also in this reality Kara Zor-El and Kal El were actually cousins. Add to that the fact that Kryptonian DNA was far more complex than human DNA and it was no surprise that Galatea would have developed some serious mental and physically defects due to her parents being cousins. The leaders of CADMUS wouldn't have cared much as Galatea was a weapon they wouldn't need in the long term.

However Professor Hamilton hadn't seen things that way. He had decided to graft a very interesting DNA sample into Galatea's genetic makeup. Doing so had stabilised the lab grown woman, she was no longer at risk of going completely round the bend and she would live a long healthy life, but it had a downside. Power Girl was weaker than a true Kryptonian, something Kara had proven on two separate occasions and the Nazi Superman had reminded Karen of that fact again.

It also meant that Galatea might develop powers and obtain skills like Gothic did. The purple haired magic user had already proven that Power Girl was more resistant to magic that Supergirl had ever been. But that didn't seem to make up for the fact that Karen wasn't as fast, strong or as smart as either of her parents.

"And it's good because you don't remind him of Supergirl too much" Raven went on to say "trust me he likes that".

"I don't remember him saying anything about me before Superman dragged him off" Galatea remarked "he didn't talk to either of us".

"He didn't say it, but he was feeling it," the part demon said "when he looks at you it doesn't hurt much and he does think your attractive".

It helped that Power Girl had breasts that even Raven wanted to play with, and she was totally straight. Unlike a certain alien princess in exile.

"Really?" Galatea said cheerfully, before tilting her head to the side as she thought the matter over "Do you check his feeling all the time?".

She was judging as she had a habit of scanning people with X-ray vision when she got bored.

"No" Raven answered "but it's hard to block them out when he's so close. We have a strong connection".

Unfortunately Jo'nn the Martian Manhunter was doing a decent job of mentally shielding the meeting, and if there was any shouting going on then the walls were blocking the noise. Which meant that Raven had no clue what was going on. It could be bad if Gothic got blamed for unleashing so many evil beings upon the world, but it wasn't his fault and he brought three potential recruits back with him. The Klingon might not be worth the trouble, and the SPARTAN might be better off working for the now CADMUS free government but an real life Jedi Knight could be a great ally for the League.

Another plus was that the immortal had brought back some tech, stuff that Cyborg was practically drooling over and the Star Trek technology could benefit the League.

Of course none of that mattered as much as the fact that Gothic was back. Raven cared most about his return, not what he brought with him.

"Ohhh, so… how long now?" Galatea asked.

Raven sighed in annoyance and then grinned evilly as a plan for revenge formed in her thoughts.

"He'll be out soon, and I think I'll take him somewhere nice for lunch" the spell caster said "We need time to catch up, and I can open long range portals now"

Raven's ability to control magical doorways had greatly grown since she had entered into the service of Rama Kushna, and there were some lovely places to eat within the Hidden City. Which was a place home to many magically gifted people, including Zatanna who was part of the Justice League. It was located somewhere in Turkey, and she didn't exactly where but Raven could open a portal directly to the city and since Gothic was technically a magic users as well he would be welcome.

"Can I come too?" Power Girl asked.

Since the point was exclude Galatea, because she was being so annoying, Raven shook her head and explained that only spell casters were allowed to visit the Hidden City. Which was actually true.

"I think it might a good idea for me to talk to him alone" the daughter of Trigon then said "a lot's changed in the last few weeks".

That was a bit of understatement to say the least, and Raven also badly wanted to talk about what she'd been up to these last few months so going out for lunch seemed the best way to do that.

"Then I was thinking he and I could catch up in other ways".

It didn't take three guesses to figure out what Raven meant by that.

"You're evil" moaned Karen Kent.

She'd not even gotten the chance to even talk to her one true love, and now she would be delayed from spending time with him yet again.

"Little bit" admitted Raven.

She did serve Balance after all and that did require being both evil and good. Just in moderation.

It was more fun that way.


	24. Chapter 24

**Author Note**

Finally you get a glimpse of the big bad for this book. Bit odd to wait this long I know, but good things come to those who wait.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Killing**

**Metropolis – January 2003**

Power Girl and I strolled through Metropolis, enjoying the sights. I'd seen them all before, but Karen was so excited by everything that her mood had started to infect me.

"I want to get a shot of you in front of the Daily Planet" Galatea said to me "and then you can take a picture of me".

She'd also fallen in love with cameras. For reasons I didn't understand she had become obsessed with capturing as many of the moments we spent together as possible. Thankfully for her I didn't mind my photograph being taken as much as I used to.

Once we were done taking pics of me outside the Daily Planet. We headed down the street towards one of the city's many banks. It was an impressive building and the design of the building gave the impression of being far older than it actually was.

I was just thinking about opening an account for Karen, as the poor girl had no money at all, when a huge bank vault door flew through the front of the building and smashed into a line of parked cars, pelting the nearby pedestrians with shards of broken glass and twisted metal. Miraculously no one seemed to be badly hurt only rather shocked.

"Time to go to work," Power Girl sighed, she was clearly unhappy about our date being interrupted "Superman's not on Earth so I better deal with whatever this is".

I remembered then that the Man of Steel was helping out a nearby world with yet another invasion, and that many of the League's big hitters had gone with him which Galatea as the most powerful being on the planet.

"Go get'em girl!" I said, cheering her on "Power Girl for the win!"

I was not at all disappointed by this interruption as I'd been looking forward to seeing her action. It was important as well because I was hoping that she would join a team I planned to create.

Power Girl smiled at me and flew into the bank, only to come flying out with enough force to sent her on to the road. I was just about to run over to her when a tall robotic figure stepped out of the bank, it's chest compartment was open and something inside it was glowing a bright green. It didn't take a genius to figure out who this was.

"After my last defeat at Superman's hands I will take great pleasure in your to death, almost as much as I shall at Superman's eventual demise," the robot criminal stated before stalking towards the downed heroine.

As I selected the highest setting on my Particle Magnum as I saw Power Girl struggled to rise, the Kryptonite was proving too much for her and the source of the deadly radiation was getting closer. I had to do something.

I opened fire and Metallo stumbled, he almost fell his feet as I fired again. At full power the energy weapon was capable of burning holes through walls made of solid metal. The machine in front of me was not solid metal. I could see some of the wires and circuits, that made up the cyborg's body.

Before the Metallo could recover from my surprise attack I was up in close and had the barrel of my pistol sticking in his face.

"I surrender" the criminal said.

Despite the fact I didn't say anything to suggest that I wasn't going to accept his surrender the bad guy seemed to know that I might once more pull the trigger.

"But heroes don't kill!" Metallo shouted at me.

That made me pause for a second, and not just because I only had one shot left at this power level but that was more than enough, at this range I'd turn the robot's head into slag and he knew that. So did I and that was the real issue here. Was I going to kill him?.

"You're in the Justice League, you have to arrest me" pleaded the bad guy "I have to go to jail. That's how it works!".

I knew that once John Corben had been a man, but he wasn't totally artificial he had a human brain so he was still alive in some sense, so I lowered the gun. Besides I knew another cyborg and he was just as much of a person as anyone else I could end this being's existence on the bases that he didn't have a living body.

"You hero types" mocked Corben "I knew you wouldn't have the nerve, and next time you won't be around to save that bitch. I'll get her and then Superman will..."

That made up my mind for me. I fired again and destroyed the criminal's head. The smell of melted metal was now mixed with something more organic and the cyborg dropped onto the cement with a clang. He was dead but I had to be sure, and I could do with some Kryptonite.

My mind made up I moved quickly. I whistled and then grabbed the piece of meteor rock that had powered Metallo. When my Spazfrag666 arrived moments later, as the bike had been close by, I stuffed the radioactive hazard into the glove compartment. It was, as I'd hoped, either lead lined or close enough to make no difference.

This was proven when I saw that Karen was already recovering. I then ran over to Power Girl's side and helped her up.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

It was a silly question, but she answered anyway.

"I'll be fine," she promised me "I guess do you care about me then".

"Yeah," I replied "I do".

Gods damn it I did care about her, even if it was just because I still loved her mother.

"You don't seem fussed that I killed him?" I asked of Galatea as she looked at the remains of the machine with a man's brain.

If fact she didn't seem at all phased by the sight.

"I've assassinated people because I was ordered too" she reminded me "You killed a bad guy because he threaten to hurt me. I think your a better person than I am".

That was true she had killed men while working for CADMUS, and the excuse 'I was only following orders' was not a valid one. Still at least she was willing to admit it had been the wrong thing to do. Her voice told me that she did indeed regret those deeds.

"But I don't think the League will see it that way" Power Girl pointed out "and you really shouldn't have killed Metallo in front of a news crew".

That was when I noticed the Channel 5 news van and all the cameras they had pointed right at me.

"I am so fucked" I muttered.

(Line Break)

****The Watchtower – January 2003****

Once more the Founding Members of the Justice League sat around the table and discussed the actions of a certain member.

"Will there be a trail?" Shayera Hol inquired.

"At this point we don't know" the Green Lantern for this sector told his former lover "Metallo isn't.. I mean wasn't human".

Since the definition of murder was: the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another. Then there might be a trail at all since this killing hadn't premeditated and John Corben hadn't been human, at least not in the biology sense of the word.

"So homicide?" the heroine formally known as Hawkgirl then asked.

"Homicide is still the killing of one human being by another" Batman said "If Metallo isn't considered to human then it's not a crime".

Should that be decided then there would no trail. In fact the immortal might end being rewarded as the bank had been able to recover the money Metallo had attempted to steal.

"He still had a human brain" pointed out Superman "that meant he was more than just a robot".

Batman nodded, as he did agree, however it really wasn't up to Superman to decided who was human and who wasn't.

"Even then it could be ruled as justifiable homicide" the Dark Knight said "Gothic's lawyer has already been on the phone to the distract attorney saying that because Metallo had threatened a woman he had just been the process of attempting to kill then it was a justified action to shot Metallo. And he's right, by law in certain circumstances, homicide is justified but only when it prevents greater harm to innocents. In this case there is sufficient evidence to prove that. Metallo made his threats live on Channel Five, and there are dozens of witnesses".

It was understandable that everyone was surprised to hear Bruce Wayne of all people say something like that. He sounded like he was defending the action, but Batman never supported the taking of lives.

"I don't agree with it, but the law is the law" the Dark Knight went on to say "and the decision isn't ours to make. What we have to do is decided if we are going to expel Gothic from the League or not".

Superman, who had just returned from a rather stressful mission in another solar system, almost spoke however he stopped him, then took a moment to breathe before finally speaking.

"I don't see that we have much choice. If we don't expel Gothic from the League then it would be like saying we approve of his actions".

Most of the Founding Members nodded their agreement.

"This situation is just like what happened with the Huntress" Jon Steward stated.

"No it is" Shayera protested "the Huntress planned to murder someone. Gothic didn't plan to kill Metallo. He didn't even know that the bank was going to be robbed! And he was protecting Galatea, Metallo did threaten to kill her".

Surprisingly Wonder Woman agreed.

"There is a difference. Killing an enemy in battle is not the same thing as seeking to assassinate a person".

What Batman said was even more shocking.

"Can we risk cutting Gothic lose?"

Everyone turned to the Dark Knight upon hearing those words.

"What do you mean?" asked the Flash.

Batman had discussed this in the past, but only with the Man of Steel.

"If we let him lose, he made decide to go his own way. Without the League there would be no one to stop Gothic from killing any criminal he wanted to. Then we'd have to go after him. We'd be turning an ally into an enemy. A very dangerous enemy".

Shayera was not pleased to hear that.

"He's not some psychopath" she argued "and it's not like any of us made an effort to show him a better way. He's rarely involved in any team missions, no one ever bothered to mentor him, so is it any surprise he does things his way".

Those words did not fall on death ears. However Bruce wanted to make his points clear so spoke again.

"To put things simply, Gothic is too powerful to allow to run free" Batman then said "we need him somewhere we can keep an eye on him. If he were to go rogue it could be a disaster or worse he could turn. Given everything he knows any faction who opposes us would gladly take him in. CADMUS was planning exactly that".

That hadn't been known to many, and all the founders spent a moment thinking about what could have happened had the government organization successfully recruited the immortal.

"Then there's his girlfriends" the Flash reminded "I don't know about Power Girl, but do you think Raven and Blackfire will stay with us if we kick Gothic out?"

None of them did, and Batman also took into account that Gothic had promised to fund a new group of Teen Titans. There was only so much Bruce Wayne could give before he jeopardised his own company. Given that the League was still growing, what with the new members and the new offices down on Earth, the League needed extra support.

The technology the Immortal had recovered would help with that, but only with Gothic's consent. However the Caped Crusader didn't think it was right to let matter of money effect the choice of the Founders so he didn't mention any of this.

"And he did just bring three new members into the League" Jo'nn reminded the others "We should remember that when making our choice".

Well there had been three. The Klingon warrior had been slain helping to track down some of the dangerous creatures that had gotten lose in the city Superman worked to protect. The SPARTAN solider was having trouble adjusting to his new life. However the Jedi Knight was fitting in very well and had already proven his worth on a recent mission.

"Okay so kicking him out of the League might not be such a good idea" Jon Stewart said "but we can't excuse what he did".

"Suspend him" suggested the Flash "If we don't want him to leave the League then we just take him off duty for a few months. That way everyone will see that we don't approve of him killing people".

Many people made the mistake of thinking the fastest man alive was a fool, mostly because he actually wanted people to think that, but he was hardly a genius either. Still now and again the Flash came up with an idea that no one else could.

"Okay so what about three months suspension" Superman suggested "Does that seem fair to everyone?".

Even Shayera agreed to these terms. However that didn't mean she was happy about it.

(Line Break)

****Jump City – January 2003****

"I've got good news and some bad news" I told Raven as she entered my study "which do you want to hear first?".

"Tell me" was all she said.

And I did.

"The good news is that I'm not being charged with anything" I informed one of my three girlfriends "the good folks in Metropolis have decided that since Metallo wasn't completely human, and because he killed two guards inside the bank, then what I did is justifiable homicide. I was then told that I should stay out of Metropolis for the foreseeable future".

That last part was no problem. I already loathed that city.

"And the bad news?" Raven inquired of me.

"I've been suspended from the Justice League for three months" I told her "Not that its such a bad thing. I can get a lot done if I don't have to worry about work".

"Like what?" she asked.

"Well for starters I should try to figure out where Blackfire got to" I said "I haven't seen her since I got back".

Given that I hadn't been around much recently I had assumed she was off doing her own thing, but now I was starting to get worried.

"She's in the attic" Raven informed me.

"We have an attic?" I asked before realising that it really didn't matter "Wait forget that and tell me what's she doing up there?".

That was when I got the feeling that I might not want to know.

"She made a cocoon to hibernate in"my spell casting girlfriend answered.

I just had to ask.

"When you say 'she made a cocoon' do you mean she made one out of say blankets or is something else".

Raven gave me a smile and the said.

"It's made of blankets. Her species sleeps for a few weeks before they go into heat".

I really shouldn't have started this line of questioning, but it was too late to turn back now.

"I don't remember Starfire ever going into heat" was what I asked next.

Or if I did then I was repressing it in a big way.

"Oh it only happens to fully grown adult females" Raven explained "Blackfire should be married by now and have a mate, her body clock is ticking. Just be grateful hybrids are very rare".

"Why should I..." I stopped then as I remembered that I was the closest thing she had to a mate "Bugger".

I was fucked, well and truly.

"If you think that's bad then think about this" Raven then said "Someone broke into the house and took Robin's old costume".

That was odd, to say the least.

"Maybe Tim needed it" I offered as a solution to this mystery.

Raven shook her head before saying.

"I already asked him about it, and this is the really weird thing, it's the Red-X outfit not the Robin outfit".

Oh dear.

"Jason" I muttered.

"Whose Jason?" I was questioned.

I hadn't realised she could hear me, but it didn't matter. She had a right to know what was going on.

"Jason Todd" I said, decided to give her the full story "he was the second Robin. Richard Grayson, who know as Nightwing was the first and Tim Drake was the third, in case you didn't know".

If she did know that she didn't comment on the matter so I kept going.

"He was killed by the Joker, but he didn't stay dead. In the comics he dug his way out of his grave but the animated film Ra's al Ghul brought him back from the dead using a Lazarus Pit".

She was used to me knowing things about this world due to all the DC comics, movies and cartoons. Although I had to wonder how she'd react if she ever found out that my life was a comic book.

"So he could be a Crow" Raven reasoned.

"You have those here?" I asked "People who come back from the dead to avenge their murders?"

Was anything actually fictional?

"Yeah" was her reply "I have a whole book on them".

I shook my head a little at the madness of existence and carried on.

"Well anyway from what I remember Jason uses the identity of other criminals in his plans. He's suppose to became a big enemy of Batman while using the Red Hood persona, and we get Red-X. I don't know what his plans are, but it won't be anything good".

"And to make it worse there are no Teen Titans around to stop him" Raven said, realising how bad things could get "Blackfire's out of action. Your suspended and I'm busy with my other work".

"Yeah" I said "so unless Galatea can protect this city solo then I'm going to have do something very clever".

In fact I already had something in mind. It was time to start writing down some new plans.

I opened one of my desk's draws and took out a notepad. That was when I noticed the small box I kept the petty cash in. The small padlock was gone and all the money was missing.

"What happened to..." I started to say, only the door slammed rather loudly as Raven fled the room

"Sneaky witch" I cursed.

**Jump City – January 2003**

The man grinned to himself as he ran across the tops of buildings with ease. He grinned, not that anyone would ever be able to tell due to the mask he wore.

What made him so cheerful was this suit, this uniform. It was black and red, all jagged lines and sharp edges. It changed him from what he was and made into the notorious Red X. The suit gave him an identity.

The other clothes he wore, during the day in public, while he went through the motions of living, that was the real costume. Besides he didn't know how to live, he'd never had the chance.

Red-X smiled behind the mask again, not bothering to worry about the pursuers. The security guards at the lab had been not match for him, and neither had the old man at the drug store. Red-X needed the medicine, he was in a lot of pain.

Soon the police would be getting the word that he had struck, but they wouldn't be coming after him just yet, and he could see why.

Below on the street Mad Mod was being led into the secured armoured truck. Galatea, or Power Girl as she now called, had captured the crook, and no doubt praise was being heaped upon her.

_Will they never learn_, he wondered? How many times would they put the bad guys behind bars just to have to do it all over again once the crook had escaped? The cat and mouse games they played could be fun, he knew that, but was it really worth the cost in the loss of life. The good guys didn't seem to be playing to win, and the bad guys could never really lose as long as the heroes played by the rules.

That was why it so much more fun being bad than it was being good. That was what Red-X planned. To be best crook ever, and maybe a bit of anti-hero too, if the mood ever struck him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Reviews **

**ImaRussian **

Killing Ra's al Ghul would only led to either Gothic replacing him, or the entire League of Shadows would hunt DC Gothic down like a dog. Both outcomes would make for an entertaining read, but that's not what I have planned for this story. Besides Ra's might be useful one day.

**Dark0w1**

Nice idea, but I have a lot of unfinished stories. I think for now I will focus on them rather than start any new ones.

****Jack****

I'm glad your enjoying it so much.

**Joe Lawyer**

Given that the League contains people like Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne who both own large corporations, it makes the most sense to hand the tech over to them so they can try and use to improve the standard of living for all humanity. Just the hypospray alone could make a big difference as they make administrating medicine and vaccinations much easier and safer.

Well since he got just got suspended he now how has time to use his intuitive aptitude to further improve himself.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Pillows**

**Jump City – December 2003**

_A Xenothium-powered suit_

_Utility belt filled that allows access to many gadgets_

_An invisibility switch on the belt _

_Xarangs or X-shaped shurikens_

_Red X-shaped expanding lasers_

_Piles of sticky goo that he can shoot from his gloves _

As I looked down at the notes I had just made I started to hate Tim just a little bit. He had invested a lot of resources into Red-X suit, and now I was the one who was going to have to deal with it.

Still at least the suit had one weakness, all the its weapons and systems required Xenothium in order to function, which meant that it should be a simple matter to trap Red-X as he would need at some point need to steal some Xenothium.

"I want a hug" a voice from behind me said.

Given that I was sitting at a table my head was just about level with Galatea's head, so I ended up being suffocated by her massive mammaries. Thankfully she let go.

"Sorry I forget how strong I am sometimes" she apologised as I breathed deeply "maybe we should lie down and cuddle. With you on top".

After another deep breath I was able to speak.

"I'm kinda busy here Tea. I'm doing a little research. Maybe...".

The sentence died quickly when I made eye contact. She might not have been living with me for very long but Power Girl had already learned how to manipulate my emotions. She was using puppy dog eyes. Blackfire must have coached her. That or she was just as smart as her mother when it came to controlling me.

"You can use my breasts as pillows" Power Girl offered.

Yeah only Blackfire would come up with that.

"There all soft and warm" Karen added.

Well it was late, and I had been working hard. Finding out what Red-X had to work with made up only part of what I had been working on. I could do with some sleep.

"And it's really easy to get out of this out fit. Watch".

Watch I did. She was totally naked and like her mother she had the body of a goddess. In fact she had a body every goddess should envy. Her skin was flawless, her curves were perfect, her breasts were impossibly firm and her butt was marvellous to say the least. She seemed to have no body hair at all which meant I got a good view of her cunt too.

"Like what you see?".

It took a few moments for me to answer.

"Yes" was all I managed to say.

"Good cause I don't like wearing clothes" Power Girl then said "so I'm gonna be naked a lot. You don't mind do you?".

"No" was my well thought out answer.

"I know we can't have sex without blue kyptonite, but I really want to sleep in your bed tonight".

In reply I just nodded.

"And I don't know much about sex" Power Girl then said "so maybe I could watch you Gothic do it".

Finally I was able to focus, but only because my other girlfriend was blocking my view, and then it clicked that Galatea wasn't talking to me.

"I don't like to be watched" Raven told Karen.

Karen let out a mournful sigh, almost a moan.

"So you two will be enjoying yourselves, and I'll be alone in my cold bed".

That did sound horrible. Something had to be done about it.

"You don't need to rush into anything" Raven advised "just wait and I'll get you some blue kyptonite I promise".

I had no idea how she would manage that as the stuff was actually rather rare unless you had millions to spend on acquiring it. However given that she worked Cosmic Balance then Raven might actually be able to get her hands on some. She was bound to have contacts in strange places.

"It's not up to you" Karen then said "we're Gothic's harem".

"Hey that's a good point" I agreed.

I was however ignored.

"And I've been his girlfriend for a long time" Raven countered "and he respects me enough not to make me do things I'm uncomfortable doing".

Which was true, and in this case that was a damn shame.

"I'd have sex with him in front of you" Galatea said, sounding very sure of herself "any time he wanted".

At this point I was considering butting in, but I really couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't offend one of them so I decided to just settle the matter.

"I promised Karen a cuddle" I said to Raven "so I'm taking her to my room. If you want to join us in bed then your welcome to. If you don't want to then it's your choice".

For a moment I thought she might go all red eyes on me, but apparently her time away had done her some good as she did not get mad.

"Fine" she said with a drawn out sigh "but I'm not having a threesome".

At this point I'd stopped caring. Raven had ruined the mood.

"And if two don't behave I will send you both to your own rooms".

"I'll be good" promised Karen.

Raven said nothing, but followed me up into my bedroom. I quickly stripped down to my boxers and got into bed. Galatea didn't even wait for me to undress she was already waiting and before my head hit the pillow it was diverted to her chest.

"Oh for Rama's sake" I heard my other girlfriend say "I have breasts too you know".

Wisely I said nothing on that subject, but I might have if I wasn't already very comfy.

"Your not even naked" Karen pointed out "and my breasts are so his pillows now".

"What about mine, you can use them as pillows. I know you like playing with them" was what Raven said next.

"Girls, girls, you're both pretty" I said "now go to sleep or I'll spank you both and send you to your own rooms".

That should have been the end of it, but Karen wasn't done talking.

"I don't sleep much" she told me "So can we cuddle a bit before you spank me? Then I'll go out for a bit. I feel like flying tonight".

"Spank her now" Raven insisted "Then we can have sex when she's not distracting you with her big breasts".

I was going to have alter the sleeping arrangements. Alternate nights perhaps.

"Go to sleep" I ordered.

Amazingly that actually worked, so I put my arms around Galatea's waist and enjoyed her pillows. They really were very comfy.

(Line Break)

**Jump City – January 2003**

Red X jumped across the roof tops of Jump city while looking for a certain building. He had decided that before he started his real crime spree that he would steal some special supplies. To be precise he was after a large supply of Xenothium.

Before long he found the building he was looking for. Not long ago it had been a toy museum a place meant to entertain and even educate young minds. Toyman had once attempted to kidnap several children, and some of the stuff on display, only he had been stopped by the Teen Titans.

The structure was owned by the infamous Lex Luthor. The museum had failed, and Lexcorp had brought the location. Many billionaires might have tried to help the charitable organization that had owned the place, but Luthor had done no such thing. The building was now a research lab, and it didn't amuse anyone. What went on their only led to suffering as it was in fact a weapons research lab.

Red-X could have stolen some Xenothium from Wayne Enterprises, however since they were using the material to power robots meant to perform difficult surgery the criminal had decided to leave that building well alone. Besides it had better security.

The man in skull mask finally reached the top of the Lexcorp building. In all honesty, he was scared, he was scared of heights and getting caught. He was also scared of other things, but none of them were about right now.

He entered the building through a ventilation system and made his way to the vaults. When he was at the right floor he hopped out of the shaft. He had managed to avoid a lot of complex alarms and such, however he hadn't taken into account the human element. Which was to say he hadn't planned for the armed guard who was patrolling this floor. He also had not been as stealthy as planned, and the man had called in backup.

"Um hello." Red X said when he turned around to find man pointing a gun at him "How are you doing?"

Within seconds that man was joined by an army of guards. The Lexcorp building might not have as many laser detection grids as the Wayne Enterprise place did, but it wasn't lacking for armed guards.

Red X kicked all their asses in short order. It was easy since he could teleport over short distances, see in the dark thanks to mask, and had access to tricks that were rarely seen outside the Bat Clan.

Soon he was standing in the safe. He quickly loaded as much Xenothium into his belt as possible and grabbed a small container of it. That was as much as he dared to carry. Any more and he would risk slowing himself down enough for the police to catch him.

He was on the roof when he heard a voice, a female voice.

"Stop right there!"

Red X sighed. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with any capes. And given that it was four in the morning he shouldn't have to.

"Say pretty lady" said Red-X "You wouldn't mind letting me go would you. I really do need this stuff"

The blonde alien, with the huge rack, shook her head so with another sigh Red-X put the container on the ground and got ready for a fight. He reached for a capsule tucked away in his built and threw it at the ground.

The gas obscured Power Girl's vision and while she could have switched to one of her other ways of seeing, instead she breathed in the smoke like substance so that she could then expel it using her super breathe.

However that turned out to be the single stupidest thing she could have done. The gas was more than a mere distraction, it was in fact a powerful sedative mixed with a little kyptonite. It wouldn't do Power Girl any real harm but she'd need to sleep it off.

"Not bad for a guy who just became a criminal last week" Red-X said, praising himself most highly.

He then grabbed the container and jumped off the building. Before vanishing into the night,

(Line Break)

****Jump City – December 2003 ****

When I woke up I found that it was Raven's chest I was using as pillows, and I'd had the weirdest dream. The details were already fading but I could remember a few little bits, but they made no sense, however it was all rather disturbing.

"Are you okay?" Ray asked of me "and don't yes because that won't work. I'm have empathic powers".

I'd forgotten she could sense my true feelings.

"Just a bad dream" I told her "I'm already forgetting it".

I had been under a lot of stress really. All the fighting and the killing was bound to catch up with me.

"Did I wake you" I asked "Sorry if I did".

"You were tossing and turning before" Raven informed me "so I held you. My breasts are pillows too".

Hearing that made me smile, but it didn't last long. I was still feeling off for some reason.

"I know how to make you feel better" my spell casting girlfriend then said "How about that sex I wanted last nigth. We haven't done it in months".

That was very true, and unless she'd been sleeping around like I had then she must need a lot of loving by now.

"Way too long" I replied.

By now, I could feel other parts of me waking up.

"We could mess around in the shower?" Raven suggested.

She'd come back a lot more fun, and happy too, at least judging by the fact that she almost skipped into the bathroom totally naked. I followed, but not too quickly as I wanted a chance admire the view.

"Lets get rid of these" she said while looking at my underwear.

Raven then pulled them down slowly, freeing my erection so that the two of us were now completely naked. It was a little chilly, but I didn't get the chance to feel the cold as I soon had another body to help keep me warm and the kissing helped too.

Once the kiss was broken we stepped into the shower together and let the warm water pour over our bodies. Which did a good job of banishing any coldness I had been feeling.

"I love you"

The words came out of mouth. I wasn't sure why. I could only assume that I finally felt like I had her back in my life.

"I love you too, more than anything." she said.

Then Raven grabbed a bottle of shampoo off the rack and pouring some into her hand. She then spread it all over my hair. Which she seemed to enjoy quite a lot.

"I'm so cutting this later" Raven then said "It grows really fast and it looks better shorter".

This wasn't the body part I wanted her focus on, but if it made her happy to stand on her tiptoes and shampoo my hair then it was fine with me. Although given the cutting remark I was rather glad she didn't seem interested about anything further down just yet.

She then grabbed a bar of soap and began to wash all over my body, she started off with her neck and back. Then she picked up a bar of some soap that was not mine and put into my hands.

I started washing her and when I reached her breasts my male hormones started to kick in. I rubbed the soap and lathered up her breasts causing Raven's moans to become loud enough that I knew it was sexual.

"Oh" Raven gasped in delight.

I decided to tweak and play with her nipples This got us both rather aroused and as I ran my fingers down her stomach, to the opening of her womanhood I totally forgot about the cleaning and put two of my fingers inside and began to thrust them in and out.

Her moaning became louder still.

"I'm going to cum if you keep that up" she said

As she closed her eyes and arched her back as I picked up the pace. I just kept thrusting his fingers in and out even faster, Raven breathed heavier, and just as she was abut to climax I pulled his fingers out and licked up her juices that were on my fingers.

"Well we don't want that now do we?" I teased.

"You're mean" Raven said with an adorable pout as she started to jerk me "I'd never do that to you".

I knew that was true, and it might only because she'd feel my sexual frustration if she did, but I was not empathic so her frustration was simply funny.

"Yeah well you need to be punished" I told her "I don't want my girls fighting".

I wasn't sure the walls of my house could take it.

"You like my breast don't you,?" Raven said with an evil smile as she started moving her soap covered hands faster and faster.

I nodded in reply.

"Good because there's something I've been wanting to do ever since I got larger breasts. And I think you'll forgive me if I do it.

Raven then crouched down until she was level with my cock and she placed my fully erect manhood in between her soapy wet breasts and massaged my dick with them.

"Oh fuck Raven!" I said through gritted teeth.

It felt so good that I had to struggle to stay standing up. The little witch on her knees seemed to know exactly what she was doing and she wasn't giving me any time to deal with this sensation.

"Raven I'm going to!" was all I was able to say.

"Do it." Raven said massaging my penis in between her breasts even faster "I want you to cum".

Which I did and I coated her tits with my cum, but the water quickly cleaned it away.

"That was so hot." she said wiping herself with a sponge "you don't how many times I thought about doing that while I was away. It's good to feel so sexy".

She was more fun than she used to be that was for sure. Her time away had been worth it.

"You are such a naughty little girl Ray" I said while grabbing my girlfriend's ass "and that's why you need to be punished

"Only you get to do that " she said another seductive grin coming over her face "you should spank me, and then I'll make you breakfast".

That sounded good until I remembered that Raven couldn't cook to save her life. But I wasn't too worried as she might have learned to make a simple meal while she was away.

"Then you better make me cum" my spell casting lover said "I've got a meeting with Dr Fate, and I don't want to be all horny the whole time".

"I'll think about it" was my reply.

And maybe I'd show her mercy. Then again, maybe not.


	26. Chapter 26

**Reviews**

**ImaRussian**

Well that's not totally true. Batman did make some effort by giving Gothic a Bat Clan identity. But that was more about Batman wanting a potential threat close so he can have eyes on Gothic.

Shayera actually does care, and did take DC Gothic on missions with her. But after seeing him die she messed up and is now keeping her distance.

As for the others well they have their owns lives and friends, and DC Gothic has surrounded himself with a close knit group of people and other members of the League, like Stargirl, have trouble joining that group.

But still all the Founding Members could have made more of an effort.

**Joe Lawyer**

You're right those companies do exist to make a profit, they have to in order to remain in business, however those companies also have the means to distribute the technology. Gothic does not.

They have the research labs to develop the tech. They have the lawyers needed to secure the patents (which they need since it is Star Trek tech and therefore the devices do infringe on copyright) they have the warehouses to store the products, and they have the means to actually get the devices into public hands. DC Gothic has none of these things and won't any time soon. So while he will get some of the profits, he won't get a lot. And Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne will at least not use the technology to make weapons.

That said now that he has income due to holding the patents he can begin to set up his own business, and can pay people to help set up his business. He has more tech than he handed over to the League.

I just need a good name for the company.

Well they are called the Justice League so they do have to take the law into account when deciding on matters like these. Plus the League actually has the support of many world governments at this point so they aren't really vigilantes any more.

He did kill a criminal in a legal way. That was why they didn't expel him like they did with the Huntress.

That's true but remember that Jedi Knights are used to following rules. They have an order and obey the Master. All the Jedi in the League needs to do is follow the rules. It's not like he wants to kill people. Besides he can always leave planet Earth if he wants to.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Mind**

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003**

"We're inside Raven's _mind_?"

Ace's question might not have actually been a real query, but I answered it anyway just in case she really did want some clarification.

"Yes the mirror you were carrying is like a magic doorway into Raven's mind" I said, before asking a question of my own "Now tell me why did she give you the mirror?".

I didn't really understand what was going on. I'd gone out after breakfast to do some shopping, since I had plenty of time off I'd figured that I could start improving myself further so I'd gone to a book store. However this time I was not making a study of occult subjects rather my focus was on the science and business studies. I was going to try and become my own support network, hopefully my brain was up to task.

But before I could even crack open one book I'd been interrupted by Ace, who was in the process of moving back in, and in her hands had been a small magic mirror. She had passed it to me, and while I recognized the item I hadn't done so in time to prevent it activating. Which had lead to us both to getting sucked into Raven's mind.

"I was unpacking my stuff when I someone scream and some banging noises "the young meta-human explained "I went to see what was going and when I found Raven her eyes were glowing yellow and she looked like she was in pain. She told me she was possessed and gave me the mirror to give to you. Then she used her powers to throw me out of her room"

Now things were starting to make sense, well at least a little. My spell casting girlfriend had somehow gotten infested by a demon and was fighting for control of her body. Also I understood that she wanted me to enter her mind, find the demon and deal with it. How I would do that was the mystery.

Thankfully Beast Boy had once told me the story about his visit into Raven's mind, so I was at least somewhat ready to deal with this strange adventure. The problem was that things could have changed. Raven had changed a lot over the years, which meant her mental landscape could have changed as well.

"If I remember right then her mind is broken up into different areas" I told Ace "and each has a different part of Raven living in it".

"Area?" the telepathic girl asked.

I struggled to recall what Beast Boy had actually said to me. I got the impression that he might have been trying to make me think that Raven was a scary bitch. At the time I hadn't know that she had been interested in me, but looking back it seemed that Beastie had known and that he had been trying to make me frightened of Raven. Not that it had worked.

"Each of Raven's emotions has got a little area of her own" I informed my little sister figure "The emotions look just like Raven, but with different cloaks. They're basically what Raven would be like if she were always in one emotional state"

"Wait how can you be here?" was Ace's next question "you have mental shields that stop your mind form being read and it works both ways, you can't be inside someone else's mind either".

That was a good point, but she didn't understand exactly what was going on her so I tried to correct her misinterpretation of things.

"We didn't get teleported into her brain, or anything like that" I told the sixteen year old "this is actually another dimension kind of like the dream world. You see when you enter an altered state like dreaming you can visit other people's minds. But it's not telepathic it's more spiritual".

Ace then giggled.

"You don't really know do you" she accused of me.

I had to tell the truth.

"No not really" I admitted "there's still a lot I don't understand about magic and metaphysical things, but I do know what while we are in her mind that doesn't mean it isn't all real".

It was a bit like the Matrix in that respect.

"But you do know where in her head we are, right?" Ace asked next "This is an emotion?".

Looking at the field we found ourselves in it wasn't hard for me to guess what feeling lived here. Grass, pink flowers that may in fact be cotton candy, pretty trees with different coloured marshmallows growing on them, a nice blue sky and a gentle breeze keeping us cool. This was her happy place, it was a scene that could have been taken right out of _Pretty Pretty Pegasus. _

"Yeah this is her happiness" I answered

"Uh oh" Ace then said.

"What's the matter?" I inquired while turning towards my friend.

Suddenly I found himself engulfed in a hug that matched then intensity the last time Starfire had embraced me. Despite being flailed around like a rag doll I manged to keep my balance when I was finally let got.

"Happy?" I asked/greeted.

"Yup" the Raven in all pink replied "that's me. I'm Happy whose happy!".

That was very much apparent.

"Do you know where the demon is?" I asked.

"I don't know" was Happy's helpful reply.

"Do you know what colour yellow is?" was my next question.

If all of Raven's feelings were colour coded then the fact that her eyes had been glowing yellow might be big clue. I suspected it was fear as rage was read and that matched the colours used by the different Lantern groups.

"No" was her answer.

"Then who would?" was the latest question.

"Knowledge! She'll know!" Happy told me "Her realm's a fair ways away though, so be careful!"

The pink cloaked aspect of Raven's personality then pointed off into the distance.

Ace and I started to walk in the direction that the emotion had pointed to, but before I was allowed to leave I had to endure another massive hug.

"She really likes you" the meta-human at my side commented as we walked "If we find the love part of her mind the Raven there might not want to let you go".

Well we'd just have to cross that bridge when we got to it.

(Line Break)

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003 **

"That was horrible" Ace said as we fought our way out of the realm of lust "I mean I know she's a bit kinky, but I never knew she was that into the bondage stuff".

Well I had know, but still that had been a bit graphic even for me.

"It wasn't that bad" I said, defending my lady love "she just likes being tied up. I think it's because she's had to control herself for most of her life. Letting someone else take over is a big deal for her".

"Yeah but that doesn't explain the chains" Ace went on to say "I mean I guess it could be fun to be all helpless, but that was disturbing like _Hellraiser_ only with feathers and a lot of spanking".

Assuming we got out of here I was going to have a word with the telepathic girl about age appropriate movies. Although to be fair at this point it might be a little late to try and shield her from that sort of thing.

"She likes horror movies" I explained "and she's ticklish. Trust me that all made sense, and it was actually tamer than I expected".

The lust section of my brain would have been far more disturbing.

"Okay so she's kinky I get that" the meta-human said to me "but why was Lust in a kitchen in that maid's outfit".

I thought about it for a moment before answering.

"Some women feel pleasure when they are serving a man's needs. They like being told what to do. But it can work the other way around too. Some men enjoy serving a woman. I like it when a woman acts like Lust was doing and clearly Raven does too, even if she doesn't want to admit it".

Kara had been the same, only for here it had been a much bigger deal. For Raven it seemed to be far less important. Although it did help to explain why she never gave up trying to cook for me. She wanted to satisfy my needs and take care of me, it was really that simple.

"I don't fantasise about cleaning the floors" Ace told me "but if it makes you happy then I guess I could give it a go".

Right now, more than ever, I didn't want to what my little sister figure would be willing to do should I ever add her to my harem. Which there was no chance of me ever doing.

"No need" I replied "I have three girlfriends I'm sure one of them will do the housework. Let's just keep moving".

We had to find the demon, and also I didn't want to discuss the room of Lust's house that had hinted at Raven's bi-curious nature. As for the room that displayed her desire to be caught doing something naughty well I wanted to go back and watch some more, but there was no time right now. I had things to do.

(Line Break)

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003**

Ace and I were walking along a rather desolate looking path when a huge wall sprang from the ground. Identical walls sprang up all around us and we presented with a choice of two roads.

"Okay so this is a maze" I muttered "Cyborg and Beast Boy got guided through here by Timid"

"Timid?" Ace asked.

"Think of a mousy Raven all shy and lacking in confidence" I explained before realizing something worrying "And she's not here"

"Is she suppose to be?" was the meta-human's latest query.

For a moment I wondered if side-kicks existed for the sole reason of asking the hero endless amounts of questions.

"Well BB told me that Timid led him and Cyborg through the maze so if she's not here, we're reduced to wandering around blindly".

Ace looked thoughtful for a moment before she started raising up into the air. I'd forgotten that she could levitate, and it might have proven useful if not for the flocks of birds that attacked her. Surprisingly they flew away when her feet touched the ground

"I guess we have to play by the rules" I said as I led Ace into the maze.

(Line Break)

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003**

After finding seven dead ends I was irked, to put it mildly. I was half tempted to see if I use my magic to make a way out. However since that might damage Raven's mind I didn't think it was a good idea.

That was when Ace tugged on my arms, which made me pay attention to the apparition before us. She seemed more ghost like than I had imagined, perhaps this was because Raven wasn't so shy any more and she was certainly a more confident person these days.

"Hello, Timid" I said "We've been looking for you".

Timid merely cringed, and I guessed she felt that I was somehow criticizing her. Which had not been my intention.

"You think you can show us the way out?" I requested kindly.

Timid nodded slightly.

"Awesome" I said.

(Line Break)

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003**

As a golden Raven walked us through her realm, we went past a wall of what looked to be trophies. They were small gold statuettes like people could earn by playing sports, however upon closer inspection it turned out to be statues of every enemy Raven had ever had a hand in taking down.

Which made me suspect that the golden girl was a personification of Raven's ego.

"Here's my personal favourite" Ego told me while pointing upwards.

Mounted on the wall high above the rows of statues was a Trigon's head, on a plaque. A hunting trophy no doubt, and a big one.

"No statue for Slade?" I said while looking around.

Everyone else was accounted for but there was no statuette for Deathstroke the Terminator.

"You kicked his ass" Gold Raven reminded me "I wasn't even there to watch you beat him".

To be fair had actually done the deed. I just took the credit so that no would ever bother him about it.

"How far is Knowledge's realm?"

"Not far. You need to get through another two areas, though."

"Whose?" I asked.

"Ride though Love and then take a left when you met Anger"

"Anger" I muttered "that could be a problem".

"It will be okay, Trigon can't influence her any more. Just, ya know, tread carefully" Ego advised

"Whose Trigon?" Ace asked.

On boy that was a long story.

(Line Break)

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003**

After enduring Raven's tunnel of love, which had been something between a fair ground ride and a shire to me, I was actually looking forward to fighting Anger. A bathing in the blood of a big scary demon would wash away all the horror of Love's realm, but sadly nothing would ever erase having to hear that song.

"What's the next area?" asked Ace, who clearly wanted to avoid further discussion of the nightmare we'd just endured as much as I did "The golden Raven told us it was Anger

"Think of Raven in the worst mood you can possibly imagine and then add some fire and brimstone" I said to Ace "Angry Raven is a demon of fury".

Once that had been Trigon, or at least Raven's rage had taken that form. What it was now I didn't know.

"Okay. This could be bad" Ace realised before saying "Wait you should be safe right? What with being her boyfriend and all. She really loves you".

Hearing that made me laugh out loud

"Obviously you've never been in love" I said

Raven made me mad sometimes so it was only natural that I drove her up the wall just as often.

"Have too" Ace reminded "I love you".

"Of course you do" I then said "and don't you sometimes want to hit me over the head with something heavy?".

The young meta-human thought it over before saying.

"You're in so much trouble".

(Line Break)

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003 **

"I just had to be a library" Ace complained as we walked through the stacks.

"Better in here than out there" I said "Rage Raven really seems to resent you for some reason".

Unlike what I had expected I had not been the target of my girlfriend's wrath. Red Raven had gone after Ace. I guessed that she resented me having so much affection for someone who wasn't her.

"I thought it would be a lot bigger" I said while looking around the place "and there should be candles too. This looks a lot more modern that I thought it would it would be".

In truth I was a little surprised. I'd been expecting something like a wizard's lair. Lots of leather bound books, and magical devices, maybe even even an alchemy lab.

And be fair parts of it were like that only on one wall, a huge computer was blinking away, and there were various files displayed on the screen. Overall I got the impression that this a cross between Hogwarts and a major university.

"Originally, it was a lot more rustic." a fussy voice said. "But somewhere along the line Raven realised that not everything worth knowing was related to magic and the occult. Personally I blame you. I never had to put up with all these machines until you forced Raven to watch all those silly science fiction shows".

I felt rather offended upon hearing that, but I put it aside as I had an important mission.

"You would be Knowledge, right?" I inquired of the Raven in a lab coat

She was rather cute this Nerd Raven.

"Evidently." she replied curtly. "And I surmise that you wish to know what is happening to Raven"

"Yes please" I requested.

Raven's inner librarian stood up and walked over to the big computer.

"I will admit that locating information has become much easier since I installed this machine" the geek girl said "perhaps you are not just a bad influence upon her. Given that Happy's realm has grown ten times larger since your romance began, there seems to be some evidence that your presence in her life is at least somewhat beneficial"

"Geeky Raven uses big words like you do" Ace commented "You must really have changed her".

It did seem that way.

(Line Break)

**Inside The Mind Of Raven – January 2003**

"So we went through all that just to end up at fear" my side-kick for this mission said "and it's not that scary. It's just a old prision".

It was a little boring I had to admit. Nothing spooky at all.

"And didn't you guess that was were we needed to go back when we first got into her head" Ace then added.

I had indeed guessed that Raven's glowing yellow eyes were connected to fear somehow and perhaps we could have gotten here sooner had we tried.

"Yeah" I admitted "but it was worth going to Knowledge to be sure we were dealing with a Fear Demon".

Although she had been no helping in coming up with a plan to defeat said demon. But to be fair if she had known how then she wouldn't have needed to me to enter her head in the first place.

Thankfully for all involved I had a plan. It was insanely risky, but since I had no other ideas I was willing to take a chance.

_"She's so afraid to cry  
And so afraid to laugh  
Is she running from her past?  
Who can really say_

_She's so afraid of love  
And so afraid to hate  
What she's running from now? _

_Who can really say"_

Given that the voice was male I assumed that it was the demon singing and not an aspect of Raven so I quickly made a list of all the fear demons I'd heard about either in fiction or from occult books.

"Barbas"

Actually he was the only one I could think of while he do after witches he tended to kill them with their fears he didn't posses them.

"There she is!" Ace called out.

All I saw was a yellow blur. Scared Raven was running around really fast. But she wasn't the Raven I was here to help.

"If she's trapped in her fear then she should be here somewhere".

As to prove me right I heard someone call out

"Gothic!"

"_Who is this?_

_What does he fear?"_

"Oh great more singing" muttered Ace.

Now it was time to put my sort of plan into action.

"I don't fear those who hide" I said, trying to sound very brave "and anyone who possess a girl is nothing but a sissy".

That was kinda sexist, but there was a good reason for it and my words had the desired effect as a shadowy looking figure did appear.

"Oh well aren't you courageous" the demon said "Maybe I should enter you and see just how brave you are".

Demons were so predictable to me.

"Okay" I replied "go for it. Try to possess me. I'll kick your ass".

Or to be precise the ghost of Trigon would.

"You offer yourself to me, mortal" the demon stated "what a fool. I will take your body and create such terror with it".

The last thing I saw was the shadowy figure flying towards me, and then everything started to hurt.

(Line Break)

**Jump City– January 2003**

When I woke up I was in Raven's bed and as I tried to move I found that I couldn't. I was chained to the bed, and not in the fun way I was trapped I had no room to move at all.

"Some of the chains are Nth metal so you won't be able to break free" Raven told me.

She was right about that. They were magic proof and very durable. I would not be able to break them.

"And why do you have Nth metal chains" I queried.

"I can't use my powers on them" she explained "I thought they would be fun for when we have sex".

Oh well that sounded fun.

"Hold on" I heard my magic using girlfriend then say "I just need to check that's your you".

It took a moment to comprehend that statement, and when I did I understood why Raven had gone to such lengths to contain me. My plan had worked it seemed. However she had been prepared for it to fail.

"Are you okay?" I questioned in concern "being possessed can't have been any fun".

"I'm feeling a lot better now your awake" she told me "I was getting worried you've been out cold for two days. Ace is doing fine, she was only knocked out for an hour".

That was shocking to hear, and worrying as I'd already lost a few weeks due that Time Lord, and now thanks to a demon I'd lost a couple of days. I really hoped this wasn't the start of some trend in my life.

"So how did you like my mind?" Raven asked me as she made some odd symbols appear above my head.

It would be wise of me to be careful what I said, but I just couldn't resist trying to embarrass her.

"Well Lust was very interesting" I said, while trying not to smirk "I had no idea that you fantasised about messing around with other girls".

I couldn't really see Raven, but I imagined she was blushing.

"It's not what you think" she protested "I only think about doing that sort of thing if it involves you. I think it would be hot if you caught me. Like when I was touching myself in your bathroom. You watching me mess around with another girl would so turn me on. It's a good excuse to punish me too".

That did make sense, but it only explained one of the things that were puzzling me.

"I was wondering why you have a part of your mind for all your emotions and for knowledge. The ego part makes sense, but that library and science lab doesn't".

Raven took a moment to answer as she was still spell casting.

"That was pride not ego" she informed me "and there's more than just places for my different feelings. I have a section for memory too".

Okay so she was more complex that I had thought. Which was really saying something as Raven was by no means a simple person.

"How do you get possessed?" I then asked.

This time was no delay in her answer.

"Someone sent me flowers and a package" she told me "I thought they were from you and when I opened the box I found a little chest with some symbols on it. I figured you'd sent me something magical so I opened it".

"That's both worrying and really creepy" I said "I'm going to find out who did this and then I'm going to shove them in a box".

Raven was not happy to hear that.

"No more killing" she urged "I work for Balance I can't let you upset it".

Given how tied up I was I decided not to argue about that. Besides there were worst things you could do someone than kill them.

"Okay your you and Trigon's spirit destroyed the demon" Raven said "Which I guess was your plan. Watching all the episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer wasn't a total waste of time".

That had indeed been who I'd ripped off. I'd gambled on the fact that some punk ass Fear Demon could never match what was left of Trigon. And I'd been right.

"Can you untie me now" I requested.

"I don't know" Raven replied "Will you be behave yourself? I don't want you trying to hunt down whoever was behind this by yourself".

"I promise I wont' I lied.

"Goth I'm empathic" Raven reminded "You can't lie to me when I'm sense your feelings".

Bugger.

"Okay fine I won't do anything dangerous without getting help first" I promised.

Raven accepted that and began to untie me. Which was just great as I really, really needed to pee.

Oh and seek vengeance, that was important too.


	27. Chapter 27

**Reviews **

**Joe Lawyer **

You have some good points there, but you also have to consider that the character didn't decide to start making money that way until after he had already given the technology to the people he thought were responsible enough to handle it. Plus if he hadn't then Lex Luthor could have tried to steal it. Which would have been very bad.

Given that Raven can open portals to other dimensions you're right there is nothing stopping DC Gothic making more money, it's just not a priority right now due to Red-X causing so much trouble. That's not to say DC Gothic isn't laying the ground work for his own business, and he remember he didn't hand over all the technology.

I like 'The Gothic Consortium' if he includes his harem and has then working to help him then the name makes sense.

My thinking it was that it was funnier the way I did it. Sometimes it's better to leave things to the reader's imagination.

Well balance is all about keeping good and evil on an even scale. Since Gothic added to amount of good guys in the world (Galatea joining the League for example) and then removes bad guys, it tips the scales in favour of good which means Raven would have to support evil. At the moment she can be good most of the time because it's the bad guys who keep upsetting the balance. It will cause conflict, but Rama would never ask Raven to stop her boyfriend from doing anything. Raven will however encourage her partner not to annoy the goddess of Cosmic Balance.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Robbery. **

**Jump City – January 2003**

Red X found himself face-to-face with the many high-rise towers of downtown Jump City. Before him were offices galore, and each of them hid valuable secrets. However while the information he could steal would no doubt be worth much to right person, he was not at all interested in something so minor as corporate espionage, nor did he wish to match his wits against their pitiful security.

His target was something a little more formidable : Titan Tower.

Red X quickly dashed across the roof tops, darting from shadow to shadow in order to avoid the pedestrians who were making their way to down town nightclubs and cinemas in an attempt to amuse themselves for the evening. However Red-X like to make his fun, he liked to challenge himself.

The job ahead would certainly be easier if X could simply use his teleporter, to transport himself straight inside the Tower but the Xenothium reactor fuelling his suit didn't provide the thief with endless amounts of power, so he would have to go most of the way on foot. Besides the teleporter only worked via line of sight. However once he was at the bay he did activate the device as he didn't fancy swimming across all that water, and the road that to the tower was watched by automated systems.

Instead he went in via the roof, which was actually the easiest way to enter the building. Some of the Titans had been able to fly rather well and had used the door up here to quickly get inside, so the entrance was not very secure. Red-X burned the padlock off with a hand held laser cutter, something he had gotten on the black market, and then he entered Titan Tower.

The building was on lock down, however that didn't make it at all hard to move around the tower once you were inside, and he had the passwords to disable the intruder alarm.

Red-X moved down a hall and stopped outside one of the bedrooms. He opened unlocked the door and walked in. Everything had been removed, there was nothing but wallpaper and carpet left, but he could sense the person who had once slept here.

The thief shook his head and exited the room, he had a job to do and no time for sight seeing. Still it was tempting to examine more of the tower. Red-X felt a connection to the place despite the fact that he never even entered the building until tonight.

"No rest for the wicked" the criminal whispered.

Moving very slowly and very carefully Red-X made his way down a few levels. The top floors were all just bedrooms and other living areas. The good stuff was towards the bottom of the tower.

The thief was after information that was stored on the Titan's computers, but when Red-X saw a door labelled 'ARMORY' he couldn't resist taking a look inside. The only thing that stood in his way was the door and the keypad that could be used to unlock said door.

1471#

He hadn't even thought about it, he just knew the code. It was as if he had in fact been here before.

"Oh baby" Red-X expressed as he looked around the armoury.

Thanks to his suit the crook had a lot of options in a fight, and he had plenty of tools for breaking into places too. However the material required to keep the suit running was hard to come by so having a few extra tricks, things that didn't require powering by this suit, up his sleeve would be a good thing for Red-X.

With that in mind he grabbed some smoke pellets, throwing stars, a single birdarang and even a telescoping staff. He would have taken more, but he didn't want to slow himself down. Besides nothing in here was worth more than the data he planned to steal.

Making his way into another room Red-X finally found the computer he'd been looking for. It was not powered up but one of the cool things his suit could do was act as an energy source for other machines. It was just a matter of doing a little rewiring. The thief was not a tech expert, but he had some skill in that area. Plus he had all the passwords needed, that helped a lot.

"Let's see" muttered the criminal as he typed "Ah there we are, all the people the Titans put away over the years".

The thief scrolled down the list of names and selected a few to look at, even as the entire database was downloaded into a storage device another crook supplied him.

"Prison, prison, prison, unknown, just got out of juvenile hall. Max lock up, while he can stay there the ugly brute. Even they don't know where Plasmus is these days".

By now the download was complete, and since staying any longer than was absolutely necessary was a bad idea Red-X decided to leave. He made his way back up to the roof and teleported away.

However little did he know that he had tripped one alarm. One that a certain former Teen Titan would soon learn about.

(Line Break)

**Jump City – January 2003**

"Can I talk to you" Galatea requested as she entered my study.

I closed down the computer I'd been working at, and looked her in the eyes. I could tell that the alien girl was concerned about something, and that it was a very important issue so she deserved my full attention.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

Power Girl seemed rather awkward for someone so powerful, and it took her a while to answer.

"I've been up the Watchtower" she told me.

Well I'd guessed as much given that she hadn't been around much these last couple of days. I had thought that she might be off exploring the world or doing important hero stuff, but it seemed that she had in fact been keeping her distance from me.

"I thought something was wrong" she went on to say "but it turns out that I'm fine. Really it's a good thing I think".

Well given that we'd never sex, and as far as I knew she'd hadn't done it with anyone else I assumed that she wasn't pregnant. However having living with Kara I knew enough about her people to guess what the problem might be.

"Let me guess your lactating" I said.

Hearing me say that astonished her.

"How did you.." Karen stopped when she figured it out "oh right because of my mother".

I wisely said nothing on the subject as I no desire to compare Galatea to either of her parents, but for two completely different reasons.

"So would you?" Power Girl requested "I mean I know we can't do that, but you could still...".

Had I not know exactly what she was actually trying to say. I'd be very confused by now.

"Sure" I said "no one could say no to your boobs".

Truer words were never spoken.

"But your busy" Karen pointed out "Aren't you trying to figure out what Red-X is up to?".

That had been consuming most of my time, that and my reading but this evening had most been spent planning for the future. I was going to set up my own company. I had the start up capital I just needed to decide what I was going to sell. I owned some property, and was even a silent partner in a few businesses, but that wasn't nearly enough to keep me rich for however long my life was going to be. But so far I hadn't been able to put everything together.

I needed to use the technology I'd looted while inside the TARDIS, but I'd handed over the Star Trek stuff the League. However I still had the Jaffa stun grenade, there could be a market for such a device. Someone had to care about taking about non-lethal ways to take down enemy soldiers. I just needed someone with the right expertise to help me.

Perhaps taking a break would be best, there was no sense succeeding in business if it negatively effected my home life.

"You're more important" I assured Galatea "work can wait".

When she smiled I knew I had made her feel a lot better about her alien weirdness.

"Besides he's just a thief" I then said "it's not like he's really that dangerous".

As Karen started to undo her outfit I forgot all about Red-X and making money. Her breasts had that effect on me.

I got up to follow her, only my old Teen Titan communicator started to beep. Someone had broken into the tower.

"Tea!" I called out "Sorry babes this going to have to wait. Someone just broke into Titan Tower I need to go check it out right away".

Power Girl recovered the outfit she had dropped onto the floor and started to cover herself up, which was a true crime in my books, before saying.

"I'll come with. I've always wanted to see it for real".

She would have dreamt about the place during her time in a coma, but seeing it for real would be more impressive.

"Okay we can take my Spazfrag" I said "every girl I know wants ride, and you get the honour of the first go".

That made her more happy than the prospect of getting her nipples sucked on. Which for me was just more proof that all women are crazy.

(Line Break)

**H.I.V.E Hideout – Jump City – January 2003 **

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming!", Jinx yelled as she walked towards the door of the base she, Gizmo, and Mammoth lived in ever they'd left the academy.

Not that they'd really lived in it much. Time and time again the Teen Titans had defeated the H.I.V.E Five in battle and sent them off to prison. They'd all gotten out, one way or another, and for a while Jinx had even been part of the East Coast Teen Titans, but sadly that hadn't worked out for her or for Kid Flash.

She figured it was Gizmo at the door, having forgotten his keys again. The annoying little midget was always locking himself out of the tower. Considering all the technology he had to work with a person would think he'd have a way to override the lock, but he never seemed to think of that.

Jinx opened the door and came face-to-face with someone that wasn't one of her room-mates.

"Red-X!" the villainous girl said in surprise "I didn't expect you. What are you doing here?"

Despite being a master thief no one was perfect, a few cameras had picked up images of Red-X and there were eye witnesses to confirm his existence as well. This meant that Jinx had in fact seen a few images of the crook.

"I came to see Gizmo. Is he here?" Red X inquired "I have the data we need for the plan".

Jinx knew nothing of this plan, and given that it still seemed to be at the information stage than there wasn't anything she could be doing to help so she wasn't offended.

"No" the bad luck causing girl informed the guest " He said something about waiting in line all night for that new Devil May Cry game".

Red-X cursed internally, he had forgotten about the midnight sale. Now he would have to steal a copy, or gods forbid actually pay for it.

"Oh" replied the thief "Well do you think he'll mind if I use his computer for a moment. He wants this data ASAP"

Normally Jinx would say no, however since Red-X was already working with Gizmo she saw no harm and she found the crook rather intriguing, so she decided to grant his request rather than turn him away.

"No problem!" she said cheerfully "Come on in!"

Red-X strode inside and then asked.

"Sure he won't mind?"

"I know I don't" was what Jinx said.

Red X closed the door behind him, and Jinx led him down the stairs. The Hive Tower was upside down so most of it was underground. On the way they passed Mammoth, who was too busy watching TV to even notice their presence.

Jinx led Red-X to the door of Gizmo's workshop, but it was locked via an electronic keypad.

"I think I can hack that." Red-X offered.

He had picked up some impressive skills since he started his life of crime, granted that had only been two weeks ago, but he was a fast learner.

Jinx just smiled and demonstrated her skills by sending a carefully placed hex that unlocked the door and opened it.

"Or you could do that" Red-X sounding noticeable impressed even with the skull mask distorting his voice.

Jinx held up her hands and twiddled her fingers.

"I've got magic hands" she explained with a suggestive smirk.

"That I don't doubt" Red X said, walking right past her and into Gizmo's workshop.

Jinx smiled as she was pleased that the thief had responded to her flirting, and then she followed him into Gizmo's lair.

They stood in the workshop, amongst the tables full of gadgets and spare parts. Red X took a quick look around, and walked strait to the device he wished to use. He was already familiar with Gizmo's workshop, as the mischievous midget had invited him here before.

Now he planned to employed Gizmo's expertise once more, if anyone could make use of data Red-X had stolen to formulate a plan to break some super villains out of jail then it was it devious dwarf.

With the Teen Titans no longer around there was no one to defend the city and as an added bonus Supergirl seemed to vanished. Sure Galatea had taken her place, but Red-X had ways of dealing with her. So now was a good time for Red-X to enact his plans.

Red-X reached into his belt and took out the tiny but highly sophisticated memory stick. As he did Jinx checked out the thief's butt, but what really got her attention was the belt he wore. It looked familiar, somewhat like the ones worn by Robin only in black.

"Is that what I think it is?" she asked, admiringly.

"Yes" Red-X replied while patting the item "It belonged to Gothic. I took it from his house".

The female crook was very impressed, as unlike Titan Tower the home of the immortal was a lot harder to find but no less difficult to break into. Not she herself had tried.

"Ya know, I once wore Robin's belt. When we took over their tower." Jinx said, obviously trying to impress her fellow law breaker.

"I know" Red-X said.

He wasn't that impressed, this was clear to Jinx.

"I just got back from there" the male crook added "I picked up few things while I was there".

Jinx smiled as she sensed an opportunity to make some badly needed money. Feeding Mammoth was expensive.

"You wouldn't be wiling to fence something, would you?" the luck manipulator inquired "I can get some big bucks for real Titan souvenirs".

Without saying anything Red-X took a birdarang and gently placed into the Jinx's hand.

"Thanks" said said.

Then the download ended and the thief got ready to leave.

"Well, love to stay and chat, but I gotta be on my way" Red-X said as he walked out of the room,

He then looked back and waved a hand over his shoulder.

"Thanks again, cutie"

"Wait!" she called out "Do you have to go so soon?"

She soon followed after him. Jinx had been hoping to get to know Red-X as there was something very appealing about the man. She didn't know what it was, but it was there.

"I got business to take care of" the thief explained "criminal empires don't build themselves".

Mammoth was still watching TV and again was totally oblivious to the fact that a stranger was in his home, even when Red-X past right by him.

Jinx stepped up her pace a bit, and tried her best to sound as alluring as she could.

"Hey, maybe we could go rob somewhere sometime" she offered "I mean if you like".

That had sounded a lot smoother in her head.

Red X opened the front door and looked back. Jinx could imagine a handsome smirk under his mask, and she knew he was a man just by the way he moved. He was very confident too.

"Sounds like fun" the crook said "Catch ya later, cutie"

Jinx watch as the mysterious villain took a step outside. As soon as the door shut she instantly sighed.

"Do you like him or something?" Mammoth asked as he turned off the TV.

Apparently he had not been as ignorant about what was going on as he had appeared to be.

"Maybe" she moaned.

Even Mammoth wasn't thick enough to miss that 'maybe' did in fact mean 'yes I do'.

(Line Break)

**Titan Tower – January 2003**

I slammed my fist into the wall so hard that it cracked, that might have hurt my hand but I didn't even notice. I was super pissed off. This bloody Red-X fellow had broken into Titan Tower and had somehow hacked into the computer's database. The information he had stolen was highly sensitive, everything a crook could ever want to know about every Titan who ever protected Jump City was in those files and there was a lot of files on our enemies as well.

"Weren't you a lot nicer when my mother was around?" Galatea asked of me when she saw the damage I had done to the wall "I only dreamt about you, but I'm sure you were more of a sweetie".

Well there was a good reason why Kara had always been able to keep me happy. Power Girl could do it too, we just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

"That's the side effect of the breast milk" I explained "it puts the person who drinks into a happier state of mind. Makes it easier to mate if the man isn't all pissed off at the world".

Karen spent a moment looking at her own chest before saying.

"I did wonder if these things had powers of their own".

Given their sheer size the fact they were so firm was proof that they did have some strange powers.

"They do" I told her "but they only work on me".

Actually I was pretty sure that her breasts if ever exposed would allow her to control the minds of many men. It was just that I didn't want anyone else looking at them. Granted with her chest that simply wasn't possible, but at very least her outfit mostly covered them up.

"Well you do look a lot happier when I show them to you" Galatea considered for a moment "Maybe I should walk around the house naked".

Now that would be very distracting. Even thinking about such a sight was stopping me from focusing on the problem at hand. Which was bad because this robbery could led to a lot of trouble.

"We can talk about it later" I said "right now we should concern ourselves with Red-X. He's been able to break into my house before".

While I'd been recovering from dealing that the demon, Raven had taken the time to further secure my residence with some magic wards. She'd never done that in Titan Tower because back then she hadn't known how. She was still expanding her knowledge of all things magic.

"And he got me with some kyptonite dust" Galatea informed me "It knocked me out and I felt sick after. I never get ill".

That rang alarm bells in my mind because that had been one of my tricks. I'd once taken out Kara with a powered sedative mixed with some green kypotonite. Well actually that been Slade's trick, but he was dead.

This Red-X was either as smart as Deathstroke had been or he knew a lot about what I had gotten up since I had arrived in this universe. Both were very worrying possibilities.

"I think we're going to need help" I admitted "and since I'm suspended from the League that means we shall have to look elsewhere for aid".

"From who?" Karen asked.

"The Teen Titans" I told her "I'm getting the gang back together to deal with Red-X and whatever he has planned".

Hopefully they would answer the call.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author Note**

A long chapter for all you lovely readers, and it's a crossover

**Reviews**

**Joe Lawyer**

The closing down of the Teen Titans was only meant to temporary so they would have left the computers and some of the equipment behind. It wasn't like it would have all fitted in the safe house. The really dangerous stuff was removed of course. That was why Red-X needed to break into DC Gothic's house to get the suit.

I think it would be a little petty to take the stuff back now. Besides this chapter involves Gothic getting some tech that will be far easier to backwards engineer and replicate. It's a spoiler to mention this but Gothic Consortium is going to start by making video game consoles and games. Then later he will branch out into other technologies.

Also I don't think your really focusing on what's important in the story. No one is even guessing who Red-X really is.

**War Sage**

Thank you, buddy.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Comic Books**

**Titan Tower – January 2003**

"I brought doughnuts and coffee" I declared as I entered the tower's meeting room "help yourselves people".

While I'd been able to gather more Titans that I had hoped to I hadn't gotten the ones I'd really been hoping for. I'd brought Raven and Ace with me, and Galatea had tagged along for reasons of her own, but the only Titans to answer my call were Beast Boy and his girlfriend Terra.

I'd never met Terra until today, as she had been a member for only a short time and that was before I had entered this universe, however Raven did know her and she did not like the geomancer one bit. If I remembered the stories right the two of them had gotten into sort of mud wrestling match, only the not the fun kind with bikinis.

Ray was still holding a grudge. I could tell because she had her hood up, and when she wore it indoors anyone who knew here also knew that was being all emo.

"I'm watching my figure" Terra said refusing the offered treat.

My girls had no such concerns.

"I don't have to worry about getting fat" Power Girl stated as she devoured a jam filled pastry.

"Magic burns calories" Raven said.

"I'm naturally skinny" was Ace's excuse.

Well malnutrition had that effect on people, so I didn't comment when she two doughnuts out of the box.

"Sorry I'm late" said Stargirl as she rushed into the room "I overslept"

Typical teenager, not that I was fit to judge.

"Are you restarting the Titans" Stargirl asked as she grabbed some coffee.

I was planning to do just that, but that wasn't what this meeting was about.

"Not for a couple more months" I told her "my accountant needs to free up some capital before I can help fund this place".

I was very well off, however a lot of my money was tied in property, investments and stock options so it was going to take a while for my account to turn some of my assets into actual money.

"Batman's still going to pay for half of everything" I then added "that means I you'll still answer to the League, or at least report to them".

It also meant that I wouldn't be the group's sole funder, but that was good as the Tower was not cheap to run, even with its own generator. Plus Batman actually owned the Tower so he should pay for it's upkeep.

"And I'm donating to the League as well so I might have to try and start making some profits soon".

I had plans to do just that, but this wasn't the time or the place to discuss my business plans.

"You still want me to led the new group?" was Stargirl's follow up question.

"Yes" I replied "With Ace as your second in command. But you'll need a couple more members. When Blackfire wakes up I'll ask her about Wildfire. Maybe she can talk to her sister and see if he can come back".

Which would be nice for my little sister type person as the alien prince known to us as Wildfire, was the only person in the galaxy Ace really seemed to trust, not counting myself and Blackfire. Which might have something to do with the fact that Wildfire didn't seem to have any bad thoughts in his head what so ever.

"I'm gonna get paid right?" Stargirl then wanted to know.

Already we had discussed this, but she needed assurance I could tell, so I once more I laid out the facts.

"Forty thousand dollars a year, and an expense account that should cover your equipment costs" I told her "you'll get your health benefits from the League".

Those tight body suits were not free after all, and she would be doing soul crushing paperwork. She deserved a good salary, and benefits.

"Ace gets thirty-five thousand as your second in command" I then said.

Hearing that made the young meta-human squeak in joy. Which embarrassed her more than a little.

"Maybe I should rejoin" Terra joked "I could do with that kind of pay raise".

That made everyone laugh and improved the mood in the room. Well not for Raven, but you couldn't please everyone.

"So why did you call us?" Beast Boy inquired once Courtney had taken a seat "Is everyone okay?"

By everyone he meant the Titans. If anything could bring us all back together it would be to protect one of our own.

"Maybe, maybe not" I replied before getting down to business "Last night Red-X broke into the tower".

As I expected BB reacted to that bit of news.

"Wait Red-X is just Robin in a different suit" Beastie said "Why would he break in here? He could just walk in the front door".

Well he was partly right about Red-X being a Robin. Assuming of course my hunch was right.

"We might be dealing with a Robin, just not the Robin we know" I started to explain "If I'm right then Red-X is in fact Jason Todd".

"Whose he?" was Terra's question.

Since I had been confusing I saw no reason not to answer her question even if Raven wouldn't want to me talking to Terra as more than I had to.

"There have been three Robins" I told BB's girlfriend "The first is now Nightwing, and the Robin we worked with was the third. What most people don't know is that there was a Robin between them. His name is Jason Todd and he was killed by the Joker".

My attempt to clarify things just created more confusion, and I got the feeling that this could take a while.

"If he's dead how can he be Red-X?" Power Girl wanted to know.

Unlike the rest of us she wasn't use to the idea that people could come back from the dead. She'd never seen me take a mortal wound and then get better.

"Well there's two possible answers" I said "either he dug his way of his grave, or Ra's al Ghul resurrected him using the Lazarus Pit".

"He might be a Crow" Raven added.

Telling everyone that caused even more confusion, but thankfully my spell casting girlfriend know loads about the occult and could explain.

"A Crow is resurrected soul that has been sent back to Earth to avenge their death" she told the group "they can't rest until the wrong is put to right. Which I guess would be killing the Joker".

That I did not agree with.

"From what I remember Jason wanted Batman to kill the Joker, so it's not that straightforward" I said "And if Ra's did resurrect him, and it went wrong, then he might be some form of undead".

Given that this was a DC universe I wasn't going to rule anything out. I'd been kidnapped on the moon by a Time Lord. If that could happen then I was willing to believe anything was possible.

"So what's this got to do with us?" Beast Boy asked.

Well not much really, but it could.

"If Red-X is Jason and he's pissed at Batman about not avenging his death, then how do you think he'll feel about our Robin, the guy who replaced him. And even if he doesn't go after Robin, he's on a one man crime spree and we've always tried to protect Jump City".

Which was reason enough for us to at least try to stop Red-X.

"And Goth's been suspended" Stargirl decided to remind us as she took the last doughnut "So he can't do anything. Which means we have to catch this guy without him".

The Titans had been taking down dangerous villains long before I'd ever turned up. They didn't really need me even if they weren't all from the same group.

"I was suspended from the Justice League, not the Teen Titans" I pointed out, before getting us back on track "not that it matters because I'm not going after him. That's what I need you guys for".

"What are you gonna do?" Raven asked of me.

"I need to find Ra's al Ghul so I can find if he did bring Jason back like in _Under the Redhood_ or if this Jason in the one in the comic books".

Also if Ra's had brought him back then he might know what Todd was up to. The former Robin had to have some sort of master plan.

"What comic books?" Terra asked.

It clicked then that she didn't know anything about me, and therefore didn't know that the DC universes were fiction in my world. I quickly explained and unsurprisingly she didn't accept it, but that didn't really matter.

"You should believe him" Raven said "there was a League mission years ago when a few of Founders went to an alternate universe were a comic book Green Lantern read as a kid was real life. That world ended in nuclear war and the comic stopped being printed in this world at the same time. It's not that strange really. Lot's of writers don't really make things up they're writing about real places and people they just don't know it. There's a low level psychic field that spreads across the multi-verses, writers tap into without even knowing they're doing it".

I actually thought that made sense. It would certainly explain how fictional universes could be real.

"What's even weirder is that Goths a comic book character too?" Ace told everyone "I'm in his series, but he's the main character. No surprise there".

I was oddly proud of that, it was flattering if you ignored how it invaded my privacy.

"Wait, what" said Raven "You're a what?".

That was when I realised that I hadn't told her about the comic, and despite what she had just said she clearly hadn't expected anyone to be writing about me. Not that I thought anyone should put pen to paper for my sake. If anything it would be way too graphic.

"The being that brought me to this universe is documenting my life as a comic book" I told her "that's why so many strange things keep happening to me. It's his way of keeping my life interesting enough for people to read about it. I didn't tell you cause I try not to think about it".

For the sake of what little sanity I had remaining I did my best to ignore the existence of the creature who kept messing with my life.

"Me too" said Ace "I didn't even look at the copy that thing left behind".

I'd totally forgotten that I actually had an issue of the comic lying around the house.

"Shame you can't get more" Beast Boy commented "If there anything like the comics we have here I bet you'd be able to find out everything Red-X is doing just by reading about it".

Yeah that was indeed a shame.

"We can" declared Raven.

As a group we all turned in our seats to face the purple haired woman.

"I can use my powers to trace the book to it's source" she informed us "if this creature is making them then he must have more. I can't take us all but some of us could go".

I felt foolish for not thinking of that myself. Raven could access other dimensions using portals. It was a brilliant idea to go and get more issues of the comic, we could find out loads of things.

However it was not a flawless plan so I decided that more needed to be done just in case.

"Someone needs to get into the Watchtower's computers to find if the League has anything on Jason Todd, Red-X or where Ra's al Ghul is".

Given that I was suppose to marry his daughter he no doubt knew where I was, but that didn't mean I had a clue what he up to. The last I'd heard he'd been involved in trying to covertly shut down CADMUS, but aside from that I had no idea what the Demon's Head was up to.

I'd missed out on all the excitement, which was actually rather disappointing as I felt rather left out. Things had been progressing towards a war between the League and CADMUS, then suddenly the government had changed and everyone was friends again. I felt rather cheated.

"I can do that" volunteered Power Girl "I'm suppose to be on monitor duty tonight anyway".

With a nod towards I approve the idea.

"So I guess me and Terra can keep an eye on things here" BB then said "and the rest of you can go read comic books. Just bring me back a present".

"I'll help you two" Stargirl offered "I don't like comics".

Now I was glad she'd decided not to join my harem. She was so anti-geek.

"Then we go tonight" I decided "Stargirl, Beast Boy and Terra can stay here in the Tower and see if there are any crime alerts. Tonight Galatea gets the info we need. While your doing that Raven, Ace and I can go find more issues of that damn comic book".

"Don't forgot my present" reminded Beast Boy "If we're all characters in a comic books then I want to see an issue with me in it".

That was possible, and there was a lot of DC merchandise for sale back in my home dimension. Maybe there was even some Teen Titan stuff.

I stood up then and smiled then as I'd just realised something.

"Should I say it?" I asked the group "I did led the Titans for while so I'm allowed to say it".

"Say what?" Ace asked.

BB smiled.

"Yeah bro say it!" he demanded.

I was still smiling at this point.

"Okay say it" said Raven "like Robin used to".

I took a deep breathe and shouted

"Titans, GO!",

(Line Break)

**Stewart's Comic Book Store – Big Bang Theory Universe – April 2015**

The door opened and as soon as I looked inside I was struck with the notion that I had been here before. I couldn't say why, but there was something strangely familiar about this place. However I didn't have much time to think ponder on why as Raven spoke to me.

"Let's get what we came for and go. The magic here feels... wrong ".

Now that she had mentioned I took the time to try and feel the power within me. The fire was still there, but it felt weaker somehow or to be more precise it felt stifled. It was a very odd sensation.

"Will you be able to get us back?" I asked

If magic wasn't working right here then we could be stuck. Which would really suck, but at least the two people I cared most about, at least in this century, were here with me then it wouldn't be too bad.

"I brought a magically charged crystal with me" Raven said "I can tap into it to boost my powers and get us home".

That was reassuring to hear.

"Okay fan out and look for more copies of the comic" I said to my girlfriend and occasional annoying side sick "We need the ones that feature Red-X. I'm going to get presents for people we know".

Given that attractive women rarely ventured into comic book stores the other customers were playing a lot of attention to my girls. Which made me glad that none of us were in costume. Not that I had an outfit really, but even I had dressed differently for this expedition. Ace did dress normally most of the time, however I'd not seen Raven in jeans and t-shirt for quite some time. It was kinda nice, mostly because she had a cute butt.

Something strange then happened. Every male customer, who wasn't me, put down the goods they had been browsing and then left the store. Which was very odd.

"I didn't like what they were thinking" Ace told me "so I gave them all the urge to go home".

Hearing that made me sigh in dismay, as I really didn't like when the telepathic meta-human used her powers any more than she had to. Still it was an impressive feat to so subtly control people.

"Don't do that again" I warned Ace "or I'll cancel your training".

Given that I had so much free time now I had decided to start training the young meta-human in the basics of hand to hand combat, and to teach her a few other tricks that would serve her well when she went to join the next group of Teen Titans.

"Hey there, can I help you?" someone asked.

I turned to see a man, who looked to be rather miserable, standing behind the stores counter. So I assumed that he worked here.

"I'm Stewart, the owner" the man then said.

Ah that was handy. He would be able to help me find exactly what I needed.

"Hi" I said "I'm looking for issues of Gothic. All the ones featuring Red-X. If you have them".

The owner led me to the right section and began rooting through the stores stock for what I needed. As he did that I looked for more DC comics as I planned to give copies to the real heroes.

"Is that just the Justice League issues you want, he appears again in Freedom Fighters?" the manager inquired.

What the hell was Freedom Fighters? I had to find out.

"Yeah sure" I replied "I also want the latest Batman, Superman, Flash, and so on. If you've got anything featuring Nightwing that would be cool. Better grab something for.. I mean anything with Batgirl will do to. I want some Teen Titans as well. Any featuring Terra would be nice bonus".

That was when I started wondering if any DVDs. Beast Boy would get a kick from seeing himself as a cartoon.

"There aren't any" Stewart told me.

"Any what?" I asked.

"Any new Batmans, or Superman's or new anything from DC. The company got brought out nearly two years ago. They just do Gothic comics and merchandise now".

That was very shocking to hear.

"I guess you haven't been to a comic book store in a while" the owner of this place commented "I've got lots of old issues, but ever since DC began Traveller Comics, they stopped publishing everything else. I've got plenty of new Marvel if you want".

The Traveller had brought DC Comics! The being was truly a demon of unspeakable evil!.

"Yeah I just came into a lot of money" I told Stewart "I want to start collecting as a hobby, so I'll take anything you've got from just before they stopped publishing. And I like Justice League Unlimited so if you've go any merchandise from that era I want to take a look".

Raven had decided to pay me back with gold she gotten from somewhere, so we'd stopped off at a few Gold Exchanges before coming here, so I had plenty of cash. And while such things as Wonder Woman posters did exist in the dimension I now called home, I knew that the real life versions of the heroes would be amused, or possibly confused, by the gifts I was going to so much trouble to get for them.

"I'll take a few of those Nintendo 3DS too" I decided "Any games you've got for it too. Oh and that Xbox1".

The hand held gaming consoles here were well ahead of what could be brought in the world I lived in. If I could convince Cyborg to figure out how they worked and replicate them, then I might just have a product.

As for the Xbox1 I'd never even seen one, they didn't even have games with Xbox360 graphics back on DC Earth, which was weird because they did have the HD TVs. But that would make it easier to market the games consoles as they should be compatible with the local tech. If they weren't well Cy loved video games, he'd sort out such issues for nothing more than some free games.

With that in mind it was tempting to seek out more technology, but we could only carry so much. Besides that had to be dimensions like this one but with enough magic to keep Raven running. We could always take a trip to those Earths and find more tech.

As the owner started to stack things on the counter the door opened and I turned my head. I then had to look away and rub my eyes before double checking what I saw.

The male characters of the Big Bang Theory, that was a sight which was leading to me suppress a desire to laugh madly like hyena.

"I'll be back in a minute" I told the proprietor "Bag all that up for me, oh I'll be paying with cash".

After saying that I went over to Raven, who upon seeing me said.

"This is where the book came from, but there's nothing supernatural about this place. And I am I really that weird looking?"

I was totally confused by this sudden change of subject.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Raven showed me a DVD of Teen Titans, and to be fair the cartoon version didn't do her justice. She was way fitter.

"That's a cartoon. You are a major hottie" I told her

To be fair she had looked a lot more like the Raven on the front of the DVD case before she had destroyed Trigon, and at least they had gotten the outfit right.

"Even with the glowing eyes?" she inquired of me.

I had to phrase this just right.

"It's adds to your mystique" I assured her "and you know your sexy. I'll prove it to you later".

That made her smile and say.

"You better".

I decided then to tell her what I had come over to say.

"Oh I figured out what universe we are in".

Before I could tell her she interrupted me.

"We're close to your home dimension. If we went back for more crystals I could take you there. I couldn't stay with you. The magic in this part of the omni-verse is too low level for me to survive for long, but you can home if you want. Trigon's ghost would fade away there so you'd be safe, and your immortality isn't magical so you'd keep your other powers".

That was another big shock to my system. I'd been gone from my Earth for so long that I didn't think I could live there any more.

"Wait didn't you say opening a portal to my world would let bad things in" I said to Raven.

"Yeah, but not from here" she informed me "existence is more stable in this dimension and I find it the same way I brought us here. It takes a lot more power to get through the barriers in these dimensions, but I can call upon my goddess for the extra juice".

I thought about it, but I didn't think it would be a good idea for me to go home. I'd be a total freak there, with no allies or friends to help me. Besides I'd most likely end up being dissected so that some egghead could figure out my immortality. Plus after two years everyone who had known would have grieved for me and moved on. Suddenly reappearing would raise a lot of questions. And of course I'd have to say goodbye to Raven.

"Don't worry" I told my girlfriend "I'm sticking with you".

We hugged for a few moments, and then she asked me something.

"So where are we then?".

By now Ace had wandered over to us, which was good timing as it saved me from having to explain things twice.

"You see the four guys over there" I said while subtly gesturing at the male characters of Big Bang Theory "They're all characters from a TV show in my world"

Ace's next statement was not what I expected.

"I don't like the tall guy. He's really mean. He thinks I shouldn't be allowed in here because I'm a kid".

Well yeah did sum up Sheldon Cooper really well. He was mean to everyone.

"And he has no sex drive" Ace added.

Well yeah that was in keeping with the character.

"He has a girlfriend I'm sorry to say" I told the two girls.

"That poor woman" Ace muttered.

Yeah Amy was not a lucky lady.

"His three friends think I'm attractive, but he hasn't even looked at me. I can only sense how much he hates your comic" Raven then said.

Oh now it was personal. I was going to hurt Sheldon Cooper. Also Raj was not actually gay, who knew?.

"Ace, his brain you can mess with. Just don't turn him into a vegetable. Do something to make him a better person. But not until we're ready to leave. I'll go pay now as we might need to leave in a hurry".

Normally I would never encourage her doing that, but not liking my comic was going to far. After everything I'd had suffered people should at least respect me, even if they thought I was fictional.

I went to the counter and paid for everything, then I handed most of the bags over to my girls as I would need my hands free. The remaining bags stayed on the counter so I could grab them when it was time to leave.

"Excuse me" I said, politely as I moved over to Raj, Howard, Leonard and Sheldon "I was just wondering: what do you think of the Gothic Comics?".

"They're okay" was Howard's answer.

That was acceptable. At least he didn't hate me.

"Gothic's kinda hot" Raj said, before hiding his head in the comic he had been flicking through.

Well that was a bit disturbing, he had to be bi or at least extremely metrosexual.

"I think he's cool" said Leonard "I dressed up as him last Halloween".

That was flattering, but he way too short to be me.

"Gothic is the worst superhero I ever had the misfortune to read about" was what Sheldon told me.

He had to be punished.

"The comics are puerile, the sex scenes are far too graphic, and the character has no place in the Justice League. And the less said about the movies the better".

That was out already! The Traveller had said he was still trying to find actors for it when I'd encountered the being, and that had been less than six months ago. So even it had somehow been rushed, there was no way there could already be a squeal. This world was ahead of the DC universe I lived in but time was flowing at the same speed according to Raven so if the movie had been made here it shouldn't be finished yet.

"Is it live action?" I asked.

"No that film isn't out yet" Leonard informed me "but there's an animated movie called The Balance. Gothic goes to Tartarus, and kills Slade again. I like it. Stewart has a few copies if you want to see it".

That wasn't what happened. Clearly real events had been altered. There was no reason for Deathstroke to be the Greek version of hell.

"I will" I said.

Now I was thinking about how strange it was that people might enjoy seeing an animated version of me go to hell and die.

"It's better than the Assault on Arkham" Howard said "I paid for the DVD with all the bonus features and then it got retconned out of existence".

I'd never heard of Assault on Arkham. It must have come out after I had left my version of Earth.

"How was in retconned" I inquired.

I assumed there was a valid reason, my life was not actually a comic book.

"Gothic's daughter went back and time and prevented Ace's death" was what I was told.

I turned to Ace who gave me a look that told me she had in fact heard that. Now I was in real trouble.

"You mean Arella" I said, seeking clarification on these events.

While I had told Raven about our daughter visiting me, as I was never going to forget that, I had not given her all the details as I'd been worried about damaging the time line, now she knew that my attempt had been completely pointless and she might also be mad at our yet unborn child for doing something so reckless.

"Yeah she did something to Ace that changed the whole time line" Howard went on to say "Ace died in issue twenty of DC Gothic – Teen Titans, it was look at the future, but that got changed so Gothic now never becomes Shadow Knight or Dark Angel".

Oh Arella was so grounded from birth to when she was thirty. Also Shadow Knight was something I might call myself, but I would never go around calling myself Dark Angel, that was a silly name for a guy who couldn't fly.

"As awful as that movie was it doesn't compare to the comics" Sheldon Cooper was now saying "I mean what sort of hero as a harem. It makes no sense whatsoever, and don't get me started on his weapons. A DC character with a lightsabre, what poppycock".

Slowly I reached for the laser sword that was hidden inside the denim jacket I was wearing.

"Supergirl was pretty smart" I said, defending Kara as she deserved it "If any DC character could make something that cool it would be her".

I then put my finger on the blue button and waited.

"Supergirl is just Superman's cousin she's not even an important character" Dr Cooper was now saying " and in these so called 'Comic Books' she's nothing more than thinly disguised fan service".

Oh he did not just call my Kara 'fan service' he would pay for this.

__Snap___-H___iss__

The lightsabre made it's appearance and the room went totally silent.

"You were saying" was all I sad.

I then used the weapon to cut through a stand of manga, and that was when they all ran for it, including Stewart.

"Hey come back!" Ace shouted "I wasn't done altering your mind yet".

"What did you do to him?" I asked the young meta-human.

I really wanted to know, but she only glared at me and then crossed her arms before saying.

"When we got home you are going to tell me what you know about me dying, and if I don't like what I hear you will never see me again".

Fun time was over, now I had to deal with an upset teenager who could move things with her mind. I was in a lot of trouble.

"Let's just go" said Raven "And no DVDs for you. You're going to spend tonight with Ace and talk. But only she'll wants you to".

By the sounds of thing I was no longer in charge of our little family, and I didn't I would be for at least two more days. Maybe even three if I didn't do anything to improve things.

"Yes, dear" I said "do you want me to make dinner?"

I might as well start trying to get back in Raven's good books. It might be too late for Ace. I'd have to see how things went.

"Yes" she replied "make whatever Ace likes the most".

That was a very good idea. But I got the feeling that it was going to take more than a single meal to restore Ace's trust in me. Maybe I'd massage her again, it did wonders for her mood last time.

End

Author Note

Yes that's right folks, I retconned my own fan fiction if you feel unclean then I'm very sorry. Arella has indeed messed up the time line. But don't worry she was grounded for it.

On the plus side Ace won't die before she hits 21 so if you like her then this is good news.


	29. Chapter 29

**Author Note.**

This chapter is a filler that's meant to be a bit funny, but it's not important to the plot

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Swap Meat **

**Jump City – February 2003 **

I lifted myself out of bed, feeling almost weightless for some reason, and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. It was rare that I slept alone these days, but the girls in my life were not happy with. Well Blackfire wasn't but she hadn't woken up yet and Galatea was mostly just confused by recent events. Which meant I was alone this night and I did not like it one bit.

Raven was beyond annoyed at me, she was in a state of apocalyptic madness because of things I'd done, and also the things I might have done if not for the changes in time line brought about by my time travelling offspring.

Personally I thought it was kind of stupid of her to be angry at me for having sex with certain women before we'd even become a couple, but it still annoyed Raven. Discovering that I'd slept with Tali al Ghul while she'd been away had really hurt Ray's feelings.

Not that I felt guilty. Kara had vanished after giving me her blessing to sleep around as much I wanted to for the next thousand years, and my other girlfriend had refused to even see me when I had gone to that monastery in Tibet. In my view it had been obvious that she had wanted nothing to do with me, so I'd seen no problem in trying to move on.

Then there were things that had never happened. A version of myself from a time line that no longer existed had tied Harley Quinn up in bed, and apparently this was somehow my fault. It made no sense to me, but Raven saw it as an unforgivable crime since we'd been married in that time line.

To make things worse Ace was mad at me too because I'd not told her about her death. That at least I could understand, as I had been keeping something important from her. But in my view I'd had good reasons, and I stuck by them. Not that this meant anything to her.

Hell hath no fury like two women who are pissed off at you.

After looking at the clock, which told me was after midnight and therefore February, I reached for the lamp by my bed, but stopped then as I knew something was wrong. Aside from the fact that there was no lamp, on front of me there was a thin limb in front of me, it was certainly not the same arm I had fallen asleep with.

It occurred to me that maybe I had lost weight, as my muscles were very compact, but while I wasn't bulky I was by no means a stick figure. Something was very wrong. I had to see what the rest of me looked like.

Moving I climbed out of bed only to fall and hit the floor with a bang. My body flooded with pain and for a few moments all I could do was lie there and try to calm myself down.

Something definitely wasn't right. I ran franticly to mirror that was on the wall. The face that looked back at me from mirror was not my own.

Then there was clattering of footsteps down the hall, however I ignored it and kept looking into the mirror. It was really unnerving to not be in my own body.

When someone knocked at the door I heard myself yelp, and my mind went into overdrive as I tried to think of a way to stop anyone from entering this bedroom, which wasn't my bedroom.

"Uh… Don't come in! I'm… n-not decent!"

I could only hoped that my words had the desired effect.

"Raven?" I heard Galatea say "Are you okay?"

Power Girl didn't need much sleep and she had super hearing, so naturally she would have heard me fall out of bed, even if no one else had.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine!" I said, while feeling very grateful that Ray didn't have a high pitched voice "I had just had a bad dream and rolled off the bed. I'm going back to sleep now. Good night".

I doubted that my words would have fooled anyone else, but Karen didn't know any of us very well as she was new to the group, and was not empathic. Therefore she believed what I had just said.

"Okay then" Galatea said "sleep tight".

Once I was sure she was gone I crept out of the room and headed for my bedroom. I was thinking more clearly now, and I had figured out that if Power Girl hadn't swapped bodies then this was most likely just a exchange of forms between Raven and myself. Perhaps she'd been doing a spell, and it had gone wrong.

I walked into my own room and saw that there's was lump in the bed under the covers. It was me, well my body, sleeping soundly. Only not for long as entering the room had caused my body to stir.

Raven, assuming it is her, sat up and looked right at me, then she looked at the parts of my body she could see and did something rather unexpected: she fainted.

"Really" I muttered to myself "Could that have looked any more sissy?".

To be fair I wanted to freak out too, but having seen things like this happen a hundred times in TV shows and such I was slightly more prepared. Not that it really helped as being in a girl's body was really strange, but at least I hadn't fainted like a maiden in distress.

I poked my own body until Raven woke up and when she did she looked ready to have a full blown panic attack, not that I could blame her.

"Shh!" I said to Raven, afraid of her either fainting again or worse screaming the house down

"You have to be quiet, and I'll tell you what's going on"

Raven nodded slowly. No doubt trying to keep calm.

"Actually I don't know what's going on" I admitted "I went to bed a few hours ago and I just woke up in your body. I'm guessing this is some sort of magic. Did you do any spells?"

I watched my own head shake, which was weird.

Then I suggested putting some clothes on and she agreed. I also had to point out that we had to wear my clothes since hers wouldn't fit on my body, and there was no way in hell I was putting on a bra. Thankfully Raven had the habit of sleeping in one my old t-shirts so it was a simple matter to put on some jeans, or at least it was until they fell down.

"You are so skinny" I complained to Raven as I was forced to make a new hole in a belt "and your hips are tiny".

I found it hard to imagine how her body managed to fit everything inside. The idea that she could one day carry a baby inside herself as well really boggled the mind. There was simply no room for anything.

"Thanks" she whispered back.

I rolled my eyes, well her eyes as she said that.

"This is so weird," Raven stated while staring at her body, the one I was currently living in "I'm looking at me and I like how I look. You're so right I am sexy".

I felt the same way, which was just making me cringe inside. Raven found me very attractive, and that was good, but I didn't want to get aroused by looking at my own body. This just had to stop.

"Do cold showers work for girls?" I inquired.

Then again being naked could make this whole thing worse. I was already tempted to see how it felt to Raven when I played with her tits.

"I've never tried it" I was told "I just mediate when things bother me and it goes away after a while".

Well that wouldn't help me. I liked being emotional, inner peace had no appeal to me.

"Have any trouble with dressing?" I asked her, blushing a little when I realised that I also skipped putting on any underwear.

I had good reasons for that. Raven mostly owned thongs these days, and no power on Earth could make me wear a pair of those thing. Thankfully I could ignore minor discomforts, even though the skin I was in was a lot more sensitive then my own.

"No," she replied "but I think I need to go to the bathroom".

This could be very bad.

"How do I?" she asked of me.

It wasn't something guys discussed, so it wasn't easy to put it into words.

"Imagine it's a hose. Point it in the right direction and then let it go".

This was so bloody embarrassing.

(Line Break)

Once we're both dressed and had done other things, we decided to grab something to eat before figuring this out. It was early morning so it was time for breakfast, besides I could actually cook and that would prove to Raven that my ability to create hot yummy food was not a skill that required adaptive biology to posses. Men could cook without super powers.

Ace wasn't up which I was grateful for as I had no idea if my mental shields had moved into the new body along with my mind. Even if they had then the telepathic teenager would know I was in somebody else's form because she'd be able to see into Raven's mind which was currently in my body.

Raven and I talked over scrambled eggs on toast, we were trying to figure out how the hell we could get back into our own bodies.

"I think this might be my fault" my girlfriend admitted "I was really mad at you and I when I went to sleep I was thinking about how little I really understand you sometimes".

"Oh bugger" I muttered, before more loudly saying "this might be one of those 'walk a mile in each other shoes' deals. I hate when that happens".

I saw myself, well my face anyway, break out into laughter.

"What's the matter?" I inquired.

"I sound British" Raven told me.

Thankfully for my girlfriend did not sound that American, so my voice was more or less the same, at least to my ears.

"Bangers and mash. Fish and chips. God save the Queen" I said "Two pints of larger and a packet of crisps, mate".

This caused Raven to laugh even more. I'd never seen her laugh so easily. In fact I still hadn't really as it was my body displaying merriment.

"Stop it" she requested "We need to fix this".

She was right, this was no time to be funny.

"First of all we need to figure out if we have each others powers" Rae then said.

That was actually easy to do. I cut myself with a knife and the bleeding didn't stop right away. I had to wait for the wound to stop leaking the red stuff and then put a plaster on it. Doing this displeased my girlfriend, and I could understand why as it was her body I'd damaged.

"Okay so you're the immortal" I told Raven

This at least made sense as the strange radiation that healed me was in the cells of my body, and my body was currently occupied by somebody else.

"Now try getting angry and imagine you have fire in the palm of your hands" I instructed Raven.

It sort of worked. She set a dishcloth on fire, and I had to throw it into the sink to put it out. Thankfully Galatea didn't come to investigate, in fact she wasn't even in the house. I couldn't sense her. Then I realised that I could sense two people who were asleep. Raven's mind powers had grown in strength it seemed.

"Are you angry a lot?" Raven asked me "it felt really good making that fire. But I don't remember you being so mad before I left".

I wanted to say something about her not being there when the ghost of dead demonic father had infested me, but that wouldn't really help the situation. Besides I didn't really want to argue any more.

"It fuels me sometimes" was all I said in reply.

Thankfully I could control it. If I hadn't learned to I'd be a rage machine by now. Much like Trigon had been.

"And are you always his horny?" was Raven's next question.

"Yes" I answered "it's the testosterone. I get mad and horny a lot. I have lots of energy to burn off. Sex is good exercise, and it makes me happy".

So was beating up criminals, but sex was more fun.

"I feel really strong" Raven then commented "and big too, everything seems a little smaller".

Really I shouldn't have said anything, but I really couldn't help myself.

"Well you're a tiny person" I told her "I mean look at you, and then there's the legs. How do they support your body with these twigs?".

That annoyed her I could see it on my face.

"You like my body" she pointed out while sounding very offended by my words "and it's nice that your so tall, and strong. It makes me feel safe when you hold me. Not that you care how I feel".

Even in a man's bod she was too emotional. And what made it worse was that I could actually feel how hurt she felt because I was empathic now and upsetting her made it bad for me because I could sense it so strongly.

"I do care" I assured her "I just don't know how you feel. I'm not empathic".

Well I was right now, but that wasn't the point.

"I don't always know what's going to upset you" I went on to say "but I don't try to make you feel bad on purpose, and it does bother me that I hurt you".

Which was something I hadn't meant to say, but perhaps I should have.

"And" Ray prompted.

I thought fast.

"And I'm sorry".

That went down well as I saw my face smile.

"Good" Raven then said "Now no more sleeping around. You've got three girlfriends, That's more than enough for anyone, and you can't quit the Justice League unless I say its okay. And you have to distance yourself from Ace. Oh and you have to wear blue and purple sometimes. I like you in those colours. Last of all I get to cut your hair. I want it kept short it more handsome".

Who was running my life? I had to wonder.

"Anything else?" I inquired.

I saw my own face take on a thoughtful expression. Which was made me want to giggle, however I was able to repress that desire.

"Well I might want some massages" Raven added "but I should do nice things for you to".

I got the impression I was suppose to present my terms now.

"Errr... I guess I have everything I want".

There were a few things I might like, but nothing that would require Raven to change the way she lived her life. Well actually that wasn't true, I didn't like her working for Cosmic Balance, but she was getting too much out of it to quit.

"You don't want to change anything about me?" Raven asked.

"Well you could stop being so cross with me" I said "I have feelings too you know".

Which people rarely seemed to consider.

"No promises" she replied "but I'll try to less... bitchy".

I never would have used that world, but the shoe did fit.

"Okay now we need to figure out a way out of this" I said.

I spent a moment or two worrying about how I was going to access Raven's powers. They were emotion based like when I tapped into mine, but way more complex. Plus she was a woman so she might not feel things the same way I did because of having different hormones. Then I realised that things are very different for women in other ways.

"Err Raven" I said, wanting to be very careful about how I said this Do you have a time of the month?"

That made her laugh again.

"No my body doesn't work that way" she told me.

Hearing that made me thank all the gods. I might be stuck in her body for a while at this rate and I didn't want to have to deal with blood coming out of me. And the less said about the bad moods the better.

"Just remember to sit when you need to go" Raven advised.

I was so not looking forward to that. I really didn't want to be a girl. I liked girls a lot. Just as a male.

"Okay so use a spell to switch us back" I demanded

If she could open portals to other worlds then switching our minds back should be simple enough.

"Your powers don't work that way" she pointed out "You can't cast spells. Not unless you use Old One magic, and that's connected to your soul so you should still be able to use your magic to switch us back".

Actually that wasn't true.

"I can, I mean you can too" I corrected "You just have to channel my magic through your body like you did when you set that cloth on fire. Then use some words to focus your intent, maybe invoke a name of power".

Never before had I seen my own face look so surprised.

"Since when could you use magic that way?" she, well he, asked "I know you can manage a few easy spells but you shouldn't be able to alter reality. You're only a warlock!".

Oh she so underestimated me at times.

"I have the spiritual remnant of a Hell-god in me" I reminded my girlfriend who was currently my boyfriend I guessed "Tala taught me how to access it for spell casting. That's how I got her out of the magic mirror".

It struck me then that I hadn't set Tala free because she had once saved the Titans. I'd done purely because I'd needed a portal to Tibet.

"Just how powerful are you?" Raven then asked me "Can you use Trigon's other powers".

Given that I couldn't even remember meeting Trigon I had no idea what powers she was on about, and I didn't really matter right now. As I had a tricky spell to cast.

"We can talk about that later" I said "let me try something first".

Raven gave me that chance.

"_K'yarnak 'bthnk- uaaah" _(exchange body spell)

(Line Break)

The next thing I knew I was getting off the floor and thanking the heaven as I was in my body.

"Oh thank Rama!" I heard Raven say in her own voice, and even better in her own body.

"Bloody hell!" I remarked as I patted myself down "Sod it all. Bugger this".

That sounded like normal to me, which was very good. I was actually happy despite what I had just said.

"I'm not mad at you any more" my once more female girlfriend told me as she picked herself up "I've decided to forgive you, but only because you got me my body back".

By that logic I should be mad at her for causing this late night trouble in the first place, but since I was finally getting back into her good books I thought it best to keep my mouth shut.

"I think we should destroy all the comics and DVDs" she then said "not the stuff we're not in, we should given those to other people and we'll keep anything to do with Red-X, but let's destroy everything else".

I agreed with that idea, even if I hadn't been able to see the movie titled 'The Balance' yet.

"We need a fresh start" Raven went on to say "I think you're right, we should move somewhere and make a new team. And we shouldn't worry about the future because we don't know what will happen, and when we get clues us just upsets us".

That were good points, and I totally agreed.

"We can't leave until the new Titans are ready, and we can't leave with Red-X on the lose" I pointed out "but yeah after that we should go and find a new city to protect".

Also I should actually read the comic books he appeared in. I hadn't actually gotten around to it yet. But that could wait until morning, there something else to deal with first.

"You know when people do the body swap thing on TV it normally takes a while for it to be reversed" I said to Raven "we worked this out in less than an hour. That strikes me as odd. It's like this was arranged to be easily fixed. What do you think about that?".

Raven's face looked very neutral right now.

"I was sleeping" she reminded me "You woke me up. So maybe you did this with an Old One spell. You did reverse the magic really quickly".

Well that was because my magic was easy to use once you figured out how it worked. Although it helped to have a patron god.

"I didn't do it" I said honestly "and you can sense I'm tell the truth. So if I wasn't behind this, then that leaves you".

Raven looked a little guilty then, and I knew I had her.

"I didn't mean for us to swap bodies I just did a spell to make it easier for to understand it each other. I thought it would make you feel what I feel, and then you'd know why I was so mad. I think your magic was able the reverse spell because you got to use my empathic abilities to sense how I was feeling".

Rather than get mad I found the whole thing rather funny.

"I'm am so gonna get you for this" I promised.

Raven smirked and then said.

"You'll have to catch me first!".

With that she ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs. However rather than chase her I made myself some coffee.

"You'll get what's coming to you" I promised "Mark my words you'll pay madam. Mark my words".

When I heard footsteps I turned and expected to see Raven, who no doubt would be wondering why I wasn't chasing after her, but it was Blackfire who entered the room. She was stark naked and looking very well rested.

"Nice nap?" I asked.

Upon seeing me she smiled and then pounced on me like she was a hungry lioness, and I was the gazelle. I'd forgotten that she was now in heat, but she had definitely remind me of that fact.


	30. Chapter 30

**Author Note**

I decided to do something special for chapter thirty. I attempted to mix comedy and horror. I think it works.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Fun &amp; Games  
**

**Sharpe Toy Factory – Freedom City – February 2003**

"What do they make here?" I asked of Raven as we stepped out of purple coloured portal.

I knew that we were somewhere in Freedom City, a place I had visited before to help Stargirl and her stepfather stop some bad guys, but I didn't know much about this city or anything the building we were in now.

"Toys for kids" my girlfriend told me as she created some light in the palm of her left hand "The demonic energy is coming from here, someone is trying to corrupt a good place and make it evil".

I slipped on the sunglasses Kara had made for me, and then I ran my finger along the frame just above one of the lenses. The almost total darkness around me became different shades of green as the sunglasses switched to night vision. This allowed me to see that I was in a factory, it didn't appear to be have been abandoned as it was too clean, however I got the sense that nothing good was here. And there was something wrong about this place.

"It's a factory" I pointed out "not exactly a bastion of the light side".

A place that made teddy bears could hardly be called evil, but it was still a business which mass produced goods for commercial enterprise, so it was hardly a temple of all that was good and true.

"Last Christmas, which you missed, the company that owns this factory donated half it's profits for December to an orphanage, and then gave every child in the orphanage a free toy" Raven explained.

To me that sounding like a marketing scheme meant to boost sales before Christmas, a very generous one given that it given away profits along with toys to orphans, so I could see how that would make someone think this place was in some way good. At the very least it didn't look evil, in fact there was nothing odd here at all. Were it not for the evil vibe I'd say this was in fact only a factory that was closed for the night.

"Whatever is going on here is happening in the warehouse. The portal should have taken us closer to the source" Raven commented "Must be all the Nth metal your carrying".

That could be the case. Nth metal was well know for disrupting things mystical, however while I was carrying both a sword and a chain made of that metal it hadn't been dangerous to lug the stuff here via a portal because none of it was pure Nth metal. When used as part of an alloy the material became much safer to handle.

"If this is something demonic you'll be glad I did" I remarked.

While I wasn't looking at Ray, I knew she was smiling at me when she next spoke to me.

"I don't mind at all. You look sexy".

Sometimes I found it hard to believe that this was the same Raven that I had met a little more than two years ago. Back then she'd barely spoke to me at all, and when she had she never displayed any emotions in my presence. Now she displayed her feelings all the time, and sometimes she told me exactly what she was thinking. Plus we had a strong bond, which was how I knew that deep down she was not as happy as she sounded. But I'd have to talk to her about that later, as right now we needed to focus.

"The leather jacket and chain go nice together" she then added "you should wear the jacket more".

I had the Nth metal chain wrapped around my body by going over one shoulder and under the other. Which along with the leather jacket did look very bad ass I had to admit. Plus I was carrying a shotgun, that had was loaded with solid metal slugs that had made myself and they also had some Nth metal in them. No demon was going to survive a meeting with me.

As we moved towards the back of the factory, which was connected to the adjoining warehouse according to the signs, I had a question to ask of my sexy lady love.

"This is a mission for Fate, not for the League. So can I kill any demons we encounter or do you want me to keep them busy while you do a spell to banish them all back to Hell?".

Raven didn't even need to think about it.

"I'll banish, you do what you do best. But if there are any people helping the demons then Doctor Fate will deal with them. No killing humans".

Fate served the Lords of Order, who were very opposed to demons being on what they called 'The Mortal Planes of Existence' which meant universes like this one, and pretty much anywhere else mortal life was meant to be dominant. Demons belonged in their Hell-dimensions.

This was why Trigon had created Raven. She was part demon, but she was also part mortal so she belonged in both here, at least in theory, and mortals could willingly invite demonic creatures into our level of reality. Because of this rule Raven had been able bring Trigon to this world in her role as his key. Much to the big red freaks regret of that I was sure.

It also meant that whoever was behind this disturbance in the mystical forces, was likely a human magic user. Killing him or her would solve the problem, whoever those that served Balance had a lot of rules about killing. They were allowed to take lives in order to save the world, but ending the life of a lone demon summoner was not permitted.

Fate however served Order, not Balance and therefore had different bosses. Both Order and Balance did not want demons running lose on Earth, the difference was that Dr Fate had his own rules. Which was why he wasn't really a member of the League, he helped them out when he could, but his methods could be to extreme for the founder.

As for me. Well I did have a patron god, who was technically an Old One and as such I was a champion of chaos. Only in my case it was more the chaos that came from someone having the free will to mess up the carefully laid out plans of the Powers That Be.

Thankfully for me this didn't make me the enemy of Balance or Order. Fate seemed to find me amusing more than anything else. Raven had confirmed that. She had also told me that too much Order was bad because it stifled creativity and prevented conflict, which was needed for growth, so all in all it was a good thing to have me around to cause mischief. If nothing else it gave the likes of Raven and Fate more job security.

Personally I found it all rather confusing, and a little worrying that I had to potential to upset the mystical forces that kept the universe together, but it wasn't really my fault so I didn't get the blame.

"Toy Warehouse" I muttered as I saw the sign above the double set of doors.

"We're close" my spell casting girlfriend informed as we entered the warehouse "I can sense the dark power".

At this point I'd wanted to say something along the lines of 'Of course you can I'm standing right here' but somehow I was able to resist the urge for badly timed humour.

"Can you smell that" I asked "it's like rotten eggs".

"Sulphur" Raven whispered "this is bad".

"Why?" I asked "we've fought demons before".

She'd beaten Trigon, so I couldn't see why a few demons in a warehouse would worry her.

"These demons are from Hell" she told me "Think Dante's Inferno".

I'd not actually read it, but I understood what she meant.

"You mean these guys work under Satan".

It hadn't been a question, but Raven nodded and then said.

"We need to stop this now".

That I agreed with wholeheartedly.

"Stay behind me" I ordered.

This wasn't my mission, but I'd be damned if I was going to let Raven face the Forces of Hell head on. I was the guy who couldn't die, not her.

Without another word I went into the warehouse and moved towards the source of evil energy. Even I could feel it now, and while it repulsed me with its sense of wrongness I also noticed how strong I felt right now.

Then I heard a noise, like the the pattering of running feet, and I turned to see a kid's toy just standing by some discarded boxes. If it weren't for the fact that it had blood stained knife in it's hands I wouldn't have found it remotely threatening.

"Hi. I'm Chucky!"

BLAM!

"No _Child's Play _crossovers!" I shouted.

The shotgun turned Chucky into chunks of plastic. There'd be no putting him back together. Charles Lee Ray could rest in pieces.

"BLAM!

"No _Bride of Chucky_ either" I said as I destroyed another evil doll.

Someone had a love for horror movies it seemed.

I turned another corner and saw a small toy robot that was very slowly turning towards me. I used the a heavily packed shelf as cover, and I was glad I did as it had real working laser. Not that I was surprised. I'd seen that trick before, back when my Teen Titans had encountered Toy Man.

With ease I took out a hand grenade (the armoury down in the basement of my house had been well stocked by Slade) and I used the explosive to destroy the toy robot.

"Muppet!" I heard Raven called out.

I turned to see a Sesame Street character, a red one, which some how was not only able to lift a fireman's axe but also swing it around.

"Elmo devour your soul!"

BLAM! BLAM!

Was my response.

"Okay this is really creepy" I said "Demons possessing kid's toys. Someone is gonna pay for this".

Now I understood how this place was being corrupted, it had nothing to do with the building or the people who worked here. It was about turning the toys, things meant to bring joy to children, into something deadly. Also the sheer amount of copyright infringement going on was a sure sign of pure darkness being present.

"I always thought Elmo was evil" Raven remarked.

Well to be fair there was something off-putting about Elmo even when he wasn't a playing host to a demon.

We kept moving and we passed an innocent looking teddy bear, that suddenly stopped being innocent and said.

"Your Mother plays card games in hell!"

BLAM!

As I started to reloaded my shotgun I got the impression that I'd heard that line somewhere before.

"How many of those things have you got?" Raven asked as I slotted the last slug into place.

"None after what's in here" I answered "then I have my sword, but I only brought one grenade so you might need to blast something".

Given that these were creatures from Hell, I didn't think using Trigon's powers would be wise, but I still had my Old One magic to call upon.

"I'm right behind you" Ray assured me.

"So am I!".

Without even thinking about I moved to shield Raven from this latest threat. Which turned out to be Raggedy Andy if I was any judge.

"BLAM!"

As bits of another beloved children's toy settle to the ground I asked myself a question.

"Why are they only coming at us one at a time?"

It was as if the universe had heard and had been offended by the remark. Something jumped on my face and this was followed by something hitting me in the foot, it tripped me up and I fell on my ass. When I got up I saw Raven smashing a toy car, one that had been driven by Barbie, with telekinetic powers. I took out the other toy, which happened to a cuddly Curious George.

"If you love you me then you will never tell anyone I got knocked on my ass by a Barbie" I said to my girlfriend.

"You'll have to buy my silence" she said

I knew a few ways to do that, but again it would have to wait.

As we made to the next row of shelves we saw another horror that would never be erased from our minds. Which this time was the entire cast of _Pretty Pretty Pegasus, _in doll form, eating a night watchman.

Raven at that point got really pissed, she glowed with raw power and I almost felt sorry to the demonic spirits as they were cast back into the dark dimension they called home. However they deserved no mercy for they had despoiled what my lover held most sacred.

"He will pay for this!" Raven swore.

The way she said 'he' made it clear to me that she actually knew exactly who was behind all this, and I also knew that this 'he' was in for a world of hurt for what they had done. When Ray started channelling this sort of power even Demon Lords weren't safe.

With no effect Raven blasted aside a small army of plastic dinosaurs from her path. Which made me realise that she hadn't needed to come with her at all. She'd just been letting me protect her from harm for the sake of my ego.

Not that this bothered me, as I was sure she'd just been letting me feel like the man for once, and I wasn't to be out done so easily. When a flying toy helicopter came at me I proved this.

_"-or bthnk- uaaad"_ (Force From, Body, Spell)

It worked the remote controlled object dropped to the ground, and when the demonic spirit, which looked to be faint outline of a horned creature, didn't fade away I used another spell.

_"-orshugg- -othebumna uaaad_" (Force From, Realm of Earth, Native of, Pit, Spell)

My own banishing spell had the desired effect. The outline sank into the ground and the smell of rotten eggs grew stronger. I was sure I had sent the demon back to Hell. I'd correctly guess that ebumna, which translated as pit, meant hell as 'The Pit' was another name for that fire filled realm.

Unlike myself Raven was not in the mood to limit property damage. She just blasted anything that was moving that didn't happen to be. The sight became truly bizarre when a gang of matching teddy bears, that all had red glowing eyes, just exploded into piles of fluff. My girlfriend was covered in the stuff used fill cuddly toys, but she somehow still managed to look totally intimating to other demons. Not that running helped.

Then we finally found the source of all this B-movie horror. The far wall of the warehouse was covered in red runes, some of which I knew by sight, and there was the body another night watchmen crucified to the wall. Only he was upside explained the connection to Hell, but it remained a mystery to me as to why symbols connected to Trgion were on the wall.

Standing in front of the extremely nasty art project was someone I had met the last time I had been in this city. His name was Reaper and as before he dressed like someone's idea of Death, even still had the scythe.

"Hello, Raven" the psychopath greeted "did you like playing with your toys? I made them just for you".

Well this guy was all sorts of crazy. Sadly he was human, as far as I knew so he would be dealt with by others. Which for him was a very good thing as I still had some slugs left.

"It's over Reaper" Ray said "stop what you're doing, now!"

The man behind the Halloween costume just stood there, and I was tempted to shoot him but I held back. This wasn't my mission and I got the sense that was also personal for Raven. I just didn't know why.

"And you brought your boyfriend" Reaper then said "how nice for you".

Judging by the tone of his voice he did not like me one bit. Which was strange because he should have nothing against me personally. I may have beaten him once, but as I thought about it he hadn't been pleased to see me that time either. He'd blamed me for something.

"Have we met?" I inquired "I mean before you started dressing like the Grim Reaper that is".

"No but it's tradition to..."

Raven didn't let him finish she used her dark energy powers to pin Reaper to the wall.

"Deal with him" she ordered, rather than asked "And don't let him talk. He can cast spells and I have to clean up his mess. I don't need any distractions".

I felt like I was on the edge of understanding why this was so personal for her, but since I had a psychopathic pyromaniac to hog tie I put it aside.

Taking off my jacket I unwrapped the chain Raven had given me for this mission, and before Reaper could do anything I had him securely contained. His magic would not allow him to escape as the chain was made from transuranic iron and once you ran an electric current through the metal it's anti-magic properties were magnified. Also the shocks made him jerk around a lot, which was just so much fun. And it helped that this chain was a lot thicker and heavier than the ones Raven kept in her room for sexy fun time.

Once I was done with that I looked to see if my lady love needed any help, but she had already finished getting rid of Reaper's art project.

"It's nearly over" she told me.

As she said that a bright golden light filled the air and Doctor Fate made his appearance.

"Well done my young friends" Fate praised "With the wards down I can now cleanse this place of its taint. Would you assist me Raven?"

So some of Reapers redecorating had been keeping Fate out. The symbols in the larger circle must have been the wards as I was sure I'd seen those in Slade's hideout during my very brief apprenticeship. Which meant that there had to be a connection between Reaper and Trigon.

"Sure" I heard Ray say.

While the two more experienced magic users started to discuss something that went over my head I took a look at Reaper's scythe. I could feel something from it, but it was more of an impression than anything else. Even when I picked it up all it did was make me feel good. It also made me feel stronger, and I was sure that it too was somehow connected to Trigon.

Yet while that made me want to destroy the weapon, I couldn't bring myself to drop it. All I could do was watch mesmerized as the scythe morphed into a more easily managed and much smaller sickle .

"Goth" I heard Raven say "What are you doing?".

I quickly reached for my discarded leather leather jacket and used it to hide it from sight. It only seemed fair since I was sure that my girlfriend was hiding something from me.

"Just getting my jacket" I told her.

She looked me right in the eye as if studying me for a moment, and walked up and kissed me on the cheek.

"Listen I might a be while" she told me "do you wanna go home and wait for me?"

I saw no reason to stick around. I wasn't going to be able question Reaper. So I made my goodbyes and simply left. I could call my Spazfragg form here to take me home so I didn't need a portal.

Besides Blackfire wanted to spend time with me and she always told me everything, so it was about time I started to pay more attention to her.


	31. Chapter 31

**Author Note**

I have a new theme tune for Gothic

"Immortal" by Adema

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Changes**

**Jump City – February 2003 **

"You sure know how to show a girl a good time." Blackfire said with a laugh "who knew mosh pits were so much fun?".

Given that she had been a sleep for a few weeks the alien princess was full of energy, and because she was in heat she was very attentive. I hadn't had this much fun in.. well I couldn't remember the last time I'd enjoyed myself like this.

Which was a little sad really, but I didn't let it bother me. In fact nothing was really bothering me despite the fact that the comic books I'd acquired from another universe had done nothing but cause problems in my personal life.

To make matters worse they had contained no information as to Red-X's true identity, whoever actually wrote the books had gone out of their way to remove any solid clues. The issues set in my future might have the information, but given what had happened recently I had decided that I didn't want to know anything about the future.

Even Galatea hadn't been able to find anything on Ra's al Ghul whereabouts, so I'd learned nothing at all despite all my efforts. Still I was cheerful enough all things considered.

"Blackfire, your a real party animal, you know that" I told her while giving her my most charming of smiles.

Her dancing was so fantastic, everyone in the rock club had been looking at her. She simply stole the scene, the way she moved her body, it was impossible for any man, and some girls, to look away.

"Your the only guy I've met who could keep up with me on a night out, I'm glad you came back to Earth" Fire said to me.

Well I'd only gotten as far as the moon, but given I was a member of a species that didn't have decent space travel, going all that way had been pretty impressive. Also since she'd been asleep when I got back she hadn't been expecting to see me as soon as she woke up.

"Me to" I replied.

Blackfire then linked arms with me and we headed home since we were both worn out from all the dancing at the club, not that most people would call that dancing. I didn't consider a proper mosh pit as no one had gotten hurt.

"Next time you should leave Earth with me" the alien princess then said "I have a ship we could go a lot further than the moon".

"What?" was my reply.

My hearing hadn't fully recovered just yet so I wasn't quite sure that I had heard her correctly.

"Think about it, you and me cruising the stars. You deserve better then this back water planet" Blackfire said.

She then stepped in front of me, and pressed her lips against mine. We kissed and then she pulled back.

"Think about it" Blackfire urged "There are thousands of worlds out there. Places that have never heard of Earth or of Tamaran. No one would know who we are.

That was very tempting. There was a whole galaxy waiting to be explored and if Blackfire had a ship we really could just leave.

"Haven't you ever wondered what it's like to make love in zero gravity?" she asked, while smiling seductively.

I did just that and I could see it being very messy.

"Don't pretend you don't want to" Blackfire then said "Lets go, we could do anything we wanted. My race lives for hundreds of years so you won't be lonely, and with our powers we could make a living as bounty hunters or mercenaries. I know that you want to avoid the future you saw in those comic books and you can do that by leaving this world far behind".

She was right, that could be away to avoid all the bad things in the future.

"I can't, Blackfire I have responsibilities here" I reminded the alien babe "I and I have two other girlfriends to think about".

Plus a business empire to set up, people who needed funding and the world might require saving any day now. Oh and I had promised Starfire I'd be a part of the League. What she had seen in the time line she'd visited made it clear to both of us that I was needed here.

"We can take 'Tea with us" Fire suggested "long as we don't go near any red suns she'll keep her powers and we both like you. Raven doesn't deserve to come she doesn't treat you very well".

And she had her duties serving Cosmic Balance, which as far as I was aware required her to stay on this mud ball. But given that I had been in her mind and that I had also occupied her body, at least for a short time, I felt that she and I were meant to stay together.

As for Ace well maybe putting some distance between us would a good idea, but it might not be good for her if I just up and left.

"It's very tempting" I told Fire "and you're right maybe it would be best, but I can't go now I have to much to do. Maybe in a couple of months we could leave for a while. But Earth is my home".

Plus it would cause a bit of a problem with this time line. Arella had changed it, but if I left she'd never exist to go back and change the time line which sounded like the start of a universe destroying paradox to me.

"Aw you're such a bore sometimes" Blackfire sighed. "Fine, I'll just have to stay here with you then wont I? What else can I do?"

"Really?" I asked since I didn't know what else to say "I thought your exile was keeping you here not me".

She was wanted dead or alive in some parts of the galaxy, and in galactic terms those planets were very close to this one. Which meant if she did leave she'd have to go far, far away.

"Uh, ya. Maybe I wasn't being clear before, I love you!" Blackfire reminded me with a big smile.

"I love you too, Blackfire" I told her.

And I meant it, but I no idea when it had happened. Maybe it was all the sex, it was really good sex. Plus she was always very nice to me, that was a big deal as she didn't take out her bad moods on me. Which was very refreshing to say the least.

"Okay this is getting kind of mushy for me, so can just go somewhere private so we can have even more sex" Blackfire then requested.

That sounded like a plan to me. I whistled so my bike would come to pick us up, then it could take somewhere nice and private for more sex.

It was a nice way to spend Valentines Day.

**The Himalayan Mountain – February 2003**

"I have heard of a temple in the mountains, however I have never been there" the old man sitting in front of his hut said to the stranger.

"Do you know where it is?" the dark haired youth inquired.

"You must cross the valley and find where the blue flowers grow" the elderly man answered, while pointing at one of the mountains.

That wasn't exactly a precise set of directions, but it was enough.

"Thank you" said the visitor to this land.

The dark haired young man turned and walked away. He headed toward the mountains and then he trekked across the valley. He kept going until he came to a halt in front of the mountain that was his goal.

As he began what he hoped to the last part of this journey the young man spotted one of the blue flowers and remembered what he had been told by the assassin who had sent him to his land.

He stooped down and plucked a flower from the ground. With great care he tucked it securely into his coat pocket so that it wouldn't be lost during his hike. It wouldn't do to get all the way to the temple only to lose the flower, as then he have come back for another one.

The man then began heading toward the mountain. He walked up the mountainside until walking became too difficult. He then began to search for handholds as he carried on his ascent up the mountain. Having no rock climbing equipment made it difficult. But eventually he made it to the top.

When he found the chance he sat down for a moment to catch his breath. It was tempting to enter the temple right away, but he didn't think it would a good idea to enter so tired.

Once he felt at least somewhat rested he pushed himself to his feet and approached the large temple door. He was covered in snow and he shivered from the cold wind however he was able to ignore the discomfort.

When he reached the door he pounded on it for all he was worth. He heard the doors open with a loud, creaking groan. He wasn't sure if this was actually a welcome but he entered anyway.

After getting inside the youth looked up to see a man standing in the centre of the room. He had dark green eyes and a small beard. His hair was neatly combed and he wore simple yet elegant clothes. He was Ra's Al Ghul of that there was no doubt. They had after all met before.

The youth removed the blue flower from his coat pocket and presented it to Ra's Al Ghul who took it from him silently.

"Why did I come here?" the dark haired man asked.

"That is a question only you yourself can answer," Ra's al Ghul replied.

"I was invited" the younger man pointed out.

This forced the Demon's Head to give a proper answer.

"I wanted to see you because I learned from my sources that you had resurfaced, or shall we say resurrected. I want to help you discover the truth. That is all." Ra's Al Ghul said as he folded his arms.

"That's _all_. My money was on you trying to recruit me to your cause. What's in this for me?" the young man said..

The two men locked eyes.

"The _truth, _Jason," Ra's said firmly. "You want to know what happened to you. I want to help you."

"What makes you think I just won't go back to Gotham and ask the Batman?" Jason Todd snapped.

Truth be told the former Robin had no actual desire to ever see Batman again. Unless perhaps it was to kill the Dark Knight, he hadn't decided yet.

"You have been alive for almost three years now, and you have not yet returned to Bruce Wayne."

"You know who he is?" Jason asked in surprise.

"I know because my daughter does," Ra's said quietly. I have not used that to my advantage because I have never needed to."

"You still haven't answered my question," Jason snapped again, it had been a long trek to get here and he was no mood to be messed around.

"I know, I don't think you will go back to Gotham because you don't have a need to. Not yet. And if you do go back, what makes you think you will be accepted. No Jason, let me be the one to guide you to the truth. He won't help you, you know him well enough; he will try to twist things to his advantage. You know this".

Jason furrowed his brow, trying to think. What Ra's said was true, but how did the Demon's Head know what happened to him.

In order to find out he bluntly asked the leader of the League of Shadows a question.

I have my sources," was all Ra's said "Will you accept my help?"

Jason Todd simply nodded in reply.

"You will stay here in the temple and not leave the grounds"

"Are you holding me prisoner?" Jason demanded to know, letting his growing anger wash away his weariness

"No my friend, I wish to train you after you discover the truth of your demise. If you decide to stay of course."

"And if I don't?" Jason asked.

"You will regret it" Ra's said

It didn't sound like a threat, it was more like warning.

"And how will I research my own death?" the former Robin then inquired.

"My computer network is untraceable throughout the world. You may hack any database on the entire planet, if you know how that is, and I promise you, no one will be able to trace you back to this place"

If this wasn't the case then the League of Shadows would have been destroyed years ago.

"I don't trust you" Jason said, being very blunt once more.

"You are very wise Jason, trust is a delicate thing, giving it isn't easy, but breaking it is. My daughter Talia will show you to your sleeping quarters."

A young woman then entered the room. She had long dark hair and a stern face, like her father. Jason knew exactly who she was but said nothing as Talia escorted him out of the room.

He hoped he would get his answers soon. He hated waiting and it was the last thing he wanted to do. He took a deep breath; he walked silently down the hall. The door slammed shut behind him. He heard it and felt as if he was walking in a tomb, but he said nothing. They arrived at his room and she showed him in.

"Sleep well, Jason. We will begin your search for the truth tomorrow" said the daughter of the Demon's Head

"Thank you," he said politely.

"You have nothing to fear from me, Jason" Talia told him "I no longer have any contact with my former beloved. I have moved on from him".

That surprised the former Robin. Talia was suppose to be in love with the Dark Knight

"You met someone else?" he asked.

He was really curious about this change of affairs.

"If I know my new beloved as well as I think I do, you may soon met him" was all the woman had to say on the subject.

By now Jason Todd was too tired to care about anything that wasn't straightforward talk, so he simply collapsed onto the bed and went to sleep. Not at all concern that he was so vulnerable in front of such dangerous people.

He'd died once already, it didn't scare him so much any more.

(Line Break)

**Jump City – February 2003 **

Across town Red-X was leaning against a dirty, red brick building in a dark back ally waiting for the delivery man to arrive with the package he ordered two days ago. As always he was costume, only this time he wasn't alone. Jinx, a member of the H.I.V.E. Five, or H.I.V.E Three to be more accurate was also waiting with him.

"How long do we have to wait?" Jinx asked "this isn't much of a date".

"The date hasn't started yet" Red-X replied "trust me you'll know when we start having fun"

That was when a white car pulled up, and a short, plump man got out with a small box in his hands. Red-X blinked a number of times so that his mask switched from normal view to infra-red. The car was carrying any passages, he'd had to check that way due to it's tinted windows.

"You got the package?" Red-X asked with a dangerous tone of voice.

The contact opened the box to confirm that he did.

"You got the dough" asked the man, in a gruff voice.

"Forty grand right here." Red-X said.

Jinx knew that was her cue to open the briefcase so that the arms dealer could see the money.

"All four were stolen from Star Labs."

Inside the box the man carried were four directed energy weapon. Each one was similar the weapon Robin had been armed with while serving as Slade's apprentice.

"Very nice," Red-X complimented, as he attached one of the devices to his wrist "Is it a rechargeable power cell?".

The arms dealer nodded as an answer.

"No wonder you're considered one of the best in the business" Red-X then said as he connected the trigger mechanism to his glove

"Give him the money" Red-X then ordered Jinx.

The arms dealer closed the case and turned to walk away. However he didn't get far as burst of red light ended his life.

"Why did you kill him?" asked a shocked Jinx.

She was a crook but she'd never causally killed anyone and Red-X had just shot a man in the back for no reason.

"So that he couldn't tell anyway who brought these weapons" the killer in black explained as he passed one of the weapons to his date "he was more than just an arms dealer. I know exactly who he was, and the kind of things he'd done".

Red-X attached the other weapon to Jinx's arm. The misfortune causing woman felt her heart beat a lot faster when he touched her and did nothing to stop him from arming her with a deadly weapon.

"Now let's go have some fun" he said.

Jinx swallowed nervously before saying.

"Alright".

With that she followed Red-X

(Line Break)

**Jump City – February 2003 **

I'd been so late I hadn't woken up into two in the afternoon, and even then it I'd had to struggle to get out of bed since Blackfire was still super horny. Since her sex drive wasn't going to diminish any time soon I hadn't much free time, but I had finally been able to get dressed and was now heading for the kitchen for something to eat.

"You're in trouble" Ace told me I past by her in the hallway.

Given the flowers and oversized teddy bear I'd gotten her just yesterday I would have thought she'd would have forgive me by now.

"What could I have possibly done now" I said, with a bit of annoyance "I've not said anything to you for days"

While I understood why she was mad at me. I really didn't see any reason for her to treat so badly in my own home.

"Oh I'm still mad at you" the young meta-human replied "but I'm not who you need to worry about. Batman's in the living room".

Sometimes I forgot who I was and when I did hearing things like that sounded so ridiculous. Then I would remember exactly what I did with my life and soon I would realise that things like weren't so silly at all.

I walked into the living room of my house, and the Dark Knight was indeed here. He was standing stock still and had his cowl on which allowed him to use the Bat Glare, however this time I was not so effected. He didn't seem so scary in daylight and I was hardly some punk off the street these days.

"Hey, Bruce" I said, trying to sound casual "Can I get you a coffee?"

Like the late Queen Victoria, Gotham's Grim Guardian was not amused.

"Where were you between the hours of 1am and 3am?" The caped crusader demanded to know.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"So that's a no on the drink then" I said.

"Just answer the question" the Dark Knight said in his scary voice.

At this point the sunlight streaming through the window did nothing to warm me, but I refused cower.

"Well at one in the morning I was leaving the club. I was with Blackfire if you want to check that. After we took my bike to for a ride out to an island in the Pacific. The Spazfragg is tagged so you can check that too".

It was very subtle, but I could have sworn Batman actually relaxed a little upon hearing that.

"An arms dealer was found dead early this morning" Bruce Wayne told me "His name was Derek Kerns, he's part of a group of middle man who work out deals between different criminal groups".

At once I knew that Batman had suspected me of killing this Derek person. I wasn't in the habit of killing people unless they happened to be a direct threat to the world, like during the recent Nazi invasion, or if they were a danger to people I cared about. So an arms dealer that I'd never even heard about had nothing to fear from me.

"So did a deal go wrong?" I inquired.

Given the man's line of work that seemed to be the most likely explanation for his death.

"If you didn't kill him, than that could be the case" Gotham's Dark Avenger said to me "unless you can think of someone who could be behind this".

He was no doubt testing me, if he didn't know more about Red-X than I did then this wasn't really Batman.

"Well there's a new player in Jump City" I told Bats "he calls himself Red-X. He using a suit Robin created to try and get closer to Slade. He's behind several recent robberies".

Which was all I knew about the guy.

"Why didn't you report this to the League" Batman then asked of me.

"Because I was suspended" was the answer to that question.

What Batman said next was surprising to say the least.

"Officially you still are. Unofficially you're going to track down Red-X. But as Shadowflight not as Gothic. We need to keep this separate from the League and the Titans".

I wanted to ask why, but the reasons weren't important to me. However there was something that did matter.

"Everyone knows I'm Shadowflight" I pointed out "Even the Joker knows it. Which means everyone in Gotham does at least".

Or at least the criminal underworld would know.

"As Shadowflight you are affiliated with the League, but not as a member. Besides the suspension only prevents you from using the League's resources and forbids you to entering the Watchtower. That does not mean you can't take any independent action. What you do may effect your chances of rejoining, but you'll be working for me so that is not an issue".

Well that was one concern of mine laid to rest.

"As for the Joker he's well known for lying and he is insane. It's highly unlikely he even cares. His obsession is to bring me down, not you".

That made sense as I'd been grabbed by him last time in order to lure Batman to a place, but he could have gone after Batgirl or Nightwing. It was pure chance that I'd been patrol that night.

As for why Batman wanted Shadowflight to go after Red-X? Well if it was Jason Todd behind the mask then it made sense for someone within the Batclan to try to make contact with him. But since I no history with that Robin there was no animosity between us. So I had a better chance of being heard out.

"That might be so" I said "but as soon as Shadowflight shows up in Jump City people will connect the dots. I'd have a better chance of finding him if I went uncover as a crook".

If I were Red-X I would have made contact with other local criminals by now, if only to buy information. Heck it wouldn't surprise me if knew some of the criminals who had been members of the H.I.V.E Five, a few were known to be out of jail, but they were keeping their heads down.

In fact if I ever switched sides I would have taken the Red-X suit and tried to rally what was left of the H.I.V.E to my side. Which meant that this would be logical place for Red-X to be. That this hadn't struck me before was annoying.

"I could even go as myself if I wasn't living with people in the League" I went on to say "few people would be surprised I went over to dark side. I could come with an new identity and get myself a reputation. Red-X might seek me out. I could get close and at find out what he is up to".

Batman may have looked thoughtful at this point, it was hard to tell.

"This is your city" was all he said.

Which was his way of saying that he would leave it up to me. I would have to decided how best to proceed.

"I'll require a few things from you" I told the Dark Knight "A small bit of blue kryptonite, something that can pass for green kryptonite, but just in appearances.

If I go underground then I need it to look good. That means someone has to come after me. I have idea who to become, but you'll have to provide me with something to steal and I might have to bend a few rules".

Before the Bats could say anything about that I raised a hand.

"No killing, but there might be some property damage and if I need to take Jason down he might beat me a few times before I finally win. Be prepared to send in backup".

Rather than comment Batman took out a folder he had hidden under his cloak and passed it to me. It contained everything I needed to break into the local Wayne Enterprise building, also there were pages on what was best to steal.

"Yeah this will do" I said.

That was when I noticed that Batman was gone, the window was open judging by the breeze but his exiting of the room had made no noise.

"I so have to learn to do that!".


	32. Chapter 32

**Reviews** **DarkAvenger001**

Gothic didn't hurt Sheldon he just scared him, and Ace was only making him want to be nicer to people.

That aside. Did you like the crossover?

Adventure Gothic is gone. I found the project to be beyond my talents so I decided to get rid of it. I have enough unfinished stories as it is.

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**The Next Step **

**Safe House - Jump City – February 2003 **

I hadn't been down here for a while, and there was something comforting about being in the closet thing I had to a Bat Cave, or as Kara had once called it 'The Man Cave', it was in truth the basement, but since Slade had fitted this place up it far more than that. Beneath the normal looking house was a gym, a computer lab and a workshop were I made the tools of my trade. It was also were I went to make magical items.

Currently I was in the process of spray painting the armour I had gotten from inside a TARDIS. I had already added some extra padding, if you could call it that, and now I was painting the metal plates a darker shade of silver to make it look cool.

If someone were to look closely at the armour they would see R'lyehian runes etched into the metal. The symbols for _nnn- _and_**'**__bthnk _which went brought together before the symbol for _uaaad_ created a spell that roughly meant. Protect Body. I had tested his spell by casting on myself and it only shielded me from magic for some reason. However given that any physical attack short of decapitation would only slow me down I wasn't too worried. Magical assaults were more worrisome anyway as I had once truly died because a mystically powered being.

Also I had taken my League of Shadows sword, and had carefully carved the runes that not only made the weapon more durable, thanks to the symbol _ehye,_which meant cohesion/integrity. Also the blade would be covered in flame when I wanted it to. By using the symbol for _wgah'n-,_which meant control in this context, along with _fm'latgh_ which translated as burn. I was able to enchant the sword for the desired effect as together it meant, controlled burn.

I might not have the kind of skill required to make electrified batarangs, or powered suits, but when it came to making magically enchanted weapons and armour then I was number one.

Besides it was part of Shadowknights persona, he was a magical warrior, however since using Trigon's powers would clue people in as to I was. With the mask I could whisper Old One spells and no would know what I was saying, more so than normal.

Plus I had Reaper's scythe, well it was a sickle now, and while I didn't know what it could do I was pretty sure it somehow shielded the wielder from empathic senses, or at least fooled them. It was dark magic, of that I was sure, but since I had a demon god inside me I was pretty sure I could handle the weapon.

"Hey, Ray" I greeted Raven as she walked into the workshop.

I didn't actually turn to check if it was her, but given that I had lots of polished metal around I could see her reflection.

"What are you doing?" she asked me in a concerned voice "I was mediating and I felt magic being used".

Hearing that made me realise that while lead shielding might stop X-rays it did nothing to block whatever signals magic use gave out. That was good to know as it meant I needed better shielding.

"I'm enchanting my new outfits and equipment" I told the girlfriend.

"How?" was her question.

I went to the trouble to fully explain exactly how I was able to imbue items with magic using Old One symbols.

"It's just a matter of placing the characters in the right order" I went on to say "That's very important because if you don't it changes what the spell means, and you need to know what you want the magic to do before you engrave. Then you just have to remember to use _uaaad_ so it's clear your making a spell rather than just writing in R'lyehian. As long as I'm clear in my intent I get the effect I desire".

I had expected her to be impressed, but instead she looked worried.

"Power like this always comes at a price" Raven said "it requires years of study to control magic".

That was easy for her to say. She was the daughter of a Hell-god and was therefore a demi-goddess in her own right. Her power beyond mine even if my magic was very versatile and easy for me to use.

"I already paid the price" I reminded Ray "My patron messes with my life to make it more interesting. I'm going to live to see everyone I care about grow old and die, and that's if I'm lucky. Oh and I've been abducted, tortured, mortally wounded quite a lot, and I did really die once. I think I'm owed a little something as compensation".

"Sorry" was all she had to say to that.

I took a deep breathe and then said.

"What's bugging you babes. I know something is making you unhappy, and for once it's not me".

It took her a while to answer. She wasn't that used to opening up to anyone even me, but at least these days she did try and she was a lot better at it. She had no trouble expressing her feelings non-verbally at least.

"I miss my friends" she told me.

That made sense. All of Robin's Titans were no longer in her life and she'd lived with those people for years. They had been her family. Now Starfire was lightyears away. Beast Boy was with Terra, who Raven loathed. Cyborg was busy. And Tim was retired.

Which thinking about it didn't actually prevent him from spending time with Raven or myself, she had a civilian identity and I could disguise myself when I needed to. He wanted to stay away from the kinds of life I lived but that didn't mean we couldn't hang out sometime.

"Why don't you dress up as a normal person and ask him to go on a double date with us. He's still with Debbie".

They hadn't broken up as I had feared. They'd just had a spat, but since Ray had visited, in order to find out if Robin had for some reason needed the Red-X suit, she had gotten some updated information.

"I could take all four of us to a nice fancy restaurant" I offered.

In fact I was part owner of such a place.

"Thanks" she said to me "but I was hoping to make friends with Blackfire and Power Girl. I...".

She didn't need to finish. I understood that she had wanted my link to her to in turn connect her to Fire and 'tea.

"Ace likes you" I pointed out "she's practically an emo. Why don't you take her out for poetry night".

It was about time for someone else to suffer through that nightmare.

"The coffee shop's changed hands, they don't do that any more".

Well the id solution to her problems had been that simple she wouldn't need my help.

"How about we go out with Rich and Babs" was my next idea "I did ruin one nice dinner I should try and make it up to them".

Getting to Bludhaven was simple enough. I could fly us there on my Spazfragg.

"Batgirl doesn't like me" Raven said "she was on team Supergirl".

It took a moment to figure that out. Barbara Gordon had been very close to Kara so it made sense she might dislike Raven. Which made me wonder who'd she had bet on in the dating pool.

"Okay then I'll arrange a group thing. I'll taken the whole household out somewhere. How about the beach?".

My girls in bikinis, now that would be fun. Maybe too fun for such a public setting.

"It's February" Raven reminded me "it's too cold".

"Not in the southern hemisphere" I pointed out "it's winter here so it's summer below the equator. Or we could just go to Hawaii. I hear it's always nice there".

No doubt there was some difference with it being winter, but I didn't think it would matter much.

"Cyborg's got those holorings that disguise people. Blackfire will need one" I commented

People in Jump City were use to aliens and meta-humans walking about in public, but the same sadly couldn't be said for other places.

"We won't need much else, it will only be for the weekend" I went on to say.

Just the possibility of getting to go on a vacation did a lot to cheer up my lady love.

"Let's go this weekend" she suggested "I can make sure we're ready. You find us a hotel".

Which meant going to a travel agents as I couldn't book holidays online and as for the short notice I would just have to pay a lot more.

At least we'd only the need the hotel since we weren't going by plane, and thanks to League we all had fake ID. So my job was pretty simple. I might even own property out there as I seemed to everywhere else.

"Okay we go this weekend" I agreed "Friday afternoon till Sunday night we are on vacation".

Which would give me just enough time for Shadowknight's first crime. Assuming of course nothing else happened between now and Friday afternoon.

(Line Break)

**Docks – Jump City – February 2003**

The Huntress let herself relax as she smashed the head of her last opponent into the wall.

"That takes care of that" she muttered, before relaising that she was very wrong about that.

The lone heroine looked around at the second wave of thugs. There were six of them, and the leader of the gang was holding a pump-action shotgun. Which also happened to be pointed right at her.

"Hmm," came a female voice from behind them. "Six guys, one girl. Looks like this party's missing something. Me!"

Galatea grinned as the shotgun-armed thug turned to face her. She wrenched the weapon from his hands and snapped the weapon in two like it was nothing more than a dried up twig. She then turned to block the tire iron the next one wielded and repeated the feat.

CADMUS had taught her well. They'd helped her refine the use of her powers so that she could easily disable normal human, as she was demonstrating now. She quickly disabled her opponents by cleanly breaking limbs a few limbs.

Her old bosses would've wanted her to kill the crooks, which would have ended the fight much more quickly. But the Justice League didn't work that way, so neither did she.

The Huntress, who Power Girl had recognized once she got a good look at the masked woman, was easily holding her own, having quickly taken down her first dance partner and was already taking on another. For a human being she was a very impressive fighter. Karen saw this when the Huntress's last opponent backed away. The disgraced crime fighter reached into a pouch and hurled one of her toys at the now fleeing criminal.

That was when a shot from a very high calibre rifle hit Galatea right in the back of her head. It didn't do her any harm, but it annoyed the hell out of the new League member.

"There!" Huntress said, pointing at someone who was fleeing behind a stack of red coloured shipping crates.

In a blur Power Girl was gone, and half a second later the wannabe assassin found the barrel of his own weapon bent around his wrists.

"What are you doing here, Huntress?" Galatea asked as the disgraced heroine caught up to her.

"I didn't think I had ask your permission to be here, Blondie," the Huntress shot back "this isn't your city".

They both knew exactly whose city this was, at least until the next group of Titans took over.

"You don't belong here" was all Karen had to say to that.

"Excuse me?" the Huntress replied, sounding very offended. "I just busted up an entire smuggling ring that was running operating right under your boss's nose".

Galatea felt herself get mad, but she didn't lash out. At least not physically.

"He's got bigger things to worry about" Karen defended.

Mostly that was attempting to keep the women in his life happy, but Power Girl didn't mind doing the crime fighting. She didn't need much sleep and had no social life, so if nothing else it stopped her from getting bored. Besides she already gone to see the sights, and had flown to some really remote places. Yet she was always drawn back here.

"Fine, whatever" the Huntress said "I'll leave _your_ city".

Galatea took the time to make sure her fellow crime fighter actually did leave the area, and was pleasantly surprised to see she did. Once that was done she decided to go home. It was getting late and even she needed a few hours sleep at night. Besides she fancied crawling into bed with a certain someone, and if he wasn't alone she didn't mind.

**Warehouse District – Jump City – February 2003**

Mammoth, Gizmo and Jinx were supes. Red-X didn't doubt that. Back in their schools days there had whispered debate behind Gizmo's back over if he actually had any powers, but Red-X thought that any kid that was capable of building such complex machines and fit them all into a back pack had to be warping reality somehow.

The trio had been the pride and joy of the Academy, the strongest, most intelligent and most powerful students respectively speaking. They had been afforded a celebrity status among the HIVE students. However while their first clash against the Titans had been somewhat of a victory, the follow up battle and every battle since then that had mattered always turned out to be a disaster.

Having moved into the underground building the remaining members of the H.I.V.E called home, Red-X had figured out how the supes had been so easily defeated. It was their own arrogance.

A good example of this was when the three super villains had taken over Titan Tower and had done nothing. They hadn't blown it up, or looted it, or even changed the security programs. All had settled in as if the defeated heroes would hang up their capes forever in shame and never try to take back their own home.

This idiocy confirmed to Red-X that either all supers were arrogant morons or that he was inherently much smarter than other criminals. Either way it didn't really matter.

He was in charge now. Even Mammoth was afraid of him, but fear wasn't enough. It was better to be loved and feared after all so he had win the respect of the H.I.V.E. And to do that he needed to led them to victory, any victory even a minor one would do.

For them a victory would be a successful crime, but to get that they needed to be able to deal with any heroes that might try to save the day, and to do that they'd need something special.

"Professor Chang" a voice said in the darkness.

The underworld supplier of exotic items looked up from the tech he had been tinkering with.

"Ahh, Jinx. What brings you here?" greeted the black market dealer "I do not see your friend. He's my best customer you know"

"I'm not here with Gizmo" Jinx said "I'm here for information".

"Oh really? What sort of information?" Chang inquired while glancing over at Red-X, who was for some reason hanging back.

"I want the kryptonite"

"Ohhh, no. That... is not for sale."

Before Chang could do anything, Jinx fired the energy weapon past the man's head and it made something expensive explode.

Then Leaning in close, she snarled and said

"And I'm not buying!"

"No, you can't!" he man said while shaking his head. "He'll kill me".

Red-X already knew exactly who Chang was talking about but his new girlfriend was slower on the draw.

"Who?" inquired Jinx.

Given she had an energy weapon pointed at the professor, he really should be afraid of her.

"Gothic!" replied Chang "It was on the news, he killed Metallo, if I sell you anything that harms Power Girl he'll come after me".

Upon hearing that Red-X had to admit that the immortal had really mastered the fear part of being a leader. By killing a single person, in front of witnesses, he'd scared more criminals with that one act than most crime fighters could ever hope too.

"Kill one. Terrify one thousand" Red-X muttered.

By now Jinx had realised that it was time to end this little meeting.

"Is that your final answer?" asked the pink haired girl.

Chang nodded, and sealed his fate. The H.I.V.E couldn't afforded to take no for an answer.

"You are the weakest link, goodbye" Red-X whispered just a second before Jinx killed the professor.

**Safe House – Jump City – 2003 **

Even as the nightmare had woken up it was fading. I vaguely recalled seeing Jinx, a former member of the East Coast Titans, but I put that down to my subconscious reminding me that I still hadn't started the task Batman had given me.

I remembered then that I wasn't alone and while Raven and Galatea were used to me keeping comfort via their pillows Blackfire was not.

"More?" I heard the alien princess say.

She was either asking if I wanted more or was asking for it. Either way the end result was the same. Her hands went south, and I got fully woken up in all respects.

"This is so unfair" another voice said.

Somehow Galatea had been able to enter my bedroom with noticing. She was standing by the bed with her arms crossed over her chest.

"I came back for cuddles" she added "and I'm gonna get them. I helped bust up a whole smuggling ring so I earned some attention".

This could be a problem.

"Just go to sleep" Raven then moaned from somewhere behind me.

I did now recall going to bed with Ray and I had a very vague memory of Blackfire joining us. Now we had Karen wanting in. I needed a bigger bed.

"And I want sex" Fire said "I'm in heat I can't help it".

I figured that this was a good time to say something, I didn't want this turning into a big argument.

"You know I can't decided if I deserve this" I told all my girls, not counting Ace "I think I'm a very lucky guy to have such beautiful women all to myself".

That made them all try to hug me at the same time. Which was somehow not only possible, but also really nice. Then with some work we managed to all fit under the covers. I ended up with Galatea's massive chest in my face, which was handy as I was a bit thirsty, while Blackfire decided that Raven should hold me while she in turn spooned Ray.

"Hey how I am suppose to get sex?" Fire questioned

Given that Raven was between us that would be tricky.

"Wait until morning" I told her "I don't have anywhere to go, we can have a lie in".

Raven was actually a morning person, at least when she had somewhere to be and 'Tea liked to go out a lot, so we would have time.

"Yeah we better" she said.

Her voice made it clear that preventing it again would be very foolish, and given that I still had a boner I could understand exactly why.


	33. Chapter 33

**DC Gothic – Justice League **

**Public Park – Jump City – February 2003**

**The Fearsome Hand Of Five**

"What's the matter?" I asked Ace as her I saw her turn her head.

Having gotten to know the meta-human rather well I knew when something was bothering her, and right now she rather miffed. Not that I blamed her. I'd been pushing her on the swings, which she loved, and now her fun time had been interrupted. For that someone would pay.

"Some people are coming" she told me.

Given that we were in a public park it wasn't odd that a group of people would be nearby. It was getting a little late for parents to bring their kids here, but that didn't mean that older children didn't hang out here at night. However something like that wouldn't bother Ace. She was sensing danger and that I took very seriously.

"Run back to the house and get help" I ordered Ace,

While I had just used my command voice, which the teenage girl actually listened to, only she didn't do as she was told.

"I can help you fight" she protested.

For a while now I had intended to make her my sidekick for the purposes of training, but I got the feeling that this wasn't the best time to start.

"Come home, fetch me some help, and then get your uniform" I ordered Ace "then come back. I might need the help".

With some help Ace had put together two new outfits. One for when she was working as a Teen Titan and the other for when she was out on a mission with me. Given what I had just said she knew exactly which uniform she was going to need.

I wasn't worried about my young friend being out alone as anyone dumb enough to mess with her deserved to have their minds messed with, and the real danger was here for me, not for her.

As soon as Ace had vanished into the night I turned to look at the dumb gits who had ruined this evening for me. There were five of them and they all wore high tech looking armour and they were all armed with exotic weapons of some sort.

"And who are you wankers?" I inquired.

I already knew, but it was polite to ask besides there were five of them.

"We are the Fearsome Hand of Five" the red headed female at the front of the group introduced "and you are our target".

That confused me a little as I could have sworn that the assassin gang was called the Fearsome Hand of Four. Still if I had my way there might be only be four of them left before this was over.

"Who hired you?" I demanded to know.

I knew they wouldn't answer. No professional would and the chick leading the group was a pro, but that hadn't been why I'd asked. I was actually taking the chance to size them up.

The leader had twin swords so I mentally labelled her as such. There was also a big guy who I named Brute. A guy with a freaky mask who was now Cyclops. A guy with a staff. And the other girl and she had an energy whip so giving her a moniker wasn't tricky.

The five of them charged right at me and I opened up with my gauss pistols. These tactic proved somewhat effective as I saw cracks in their armour and Whips actually fell to the ground. I then dropped the guns and let lose with a smoke bomb.

I used the distraction to put some distance between myself and five killers, but they came charging out of the gas cloud while still in their formation. Which meant that they'd been expecting me to do that.

"_Kadishtu nilgh'ri r'luh uaaah" __I quickly said. _

The spell I had just cast allowed me to see things that were hidden, which meant that I could need the faces of the hired killers, but since I had no idea who they were this didn't help me. Not that I cared as that wasn't why I had cast the spell.

I was just about to cast the next spell when Twins Swords and Stick tried to double team me. They made a few slashes and jabs meant to pin me in place, but I was able to dodge them.

_"N'ghft nnn y'bthnk uaah" __I muttered under my breath while still attempting to put some distance between myself and assassins. _

_The spell had an interesting effect. A darkness formed around me but since I had just cast a spell to allow myself to see hidden things it didn't effect me from seeing myself or what was around me._

That was when Cyclops used his weapon built into his mask to try and blast me. As I dropped to the ground I cursed. I hadn't considered that he might have infra-red vision.

_"Do any of you hired guns even know who I am?"_ I asked.

Again I was trying to buy time. Cyclops was the only one who could see me so if I could get behind him and knock him out then taking down the rest would become a lot easier.

"You are a dead man" said one of the male assassins.

I could see them all clearly and they were all standing with their backs facing each others so that at least one of them could see in any direction. I considered using another Old One spell to swap myself myself with an assassin, however using that much magic might be beyond me and if the spells I was making use of did suddenly end then I would be in trouble.

"Where the fuck is he?" I heard a female voice call out as I was getting behind Cyclops "I can't see anything".

That had to be the blonde haired woman not the red head. The leader of the group didn't look the type to freak out.

Another energy blast then hit the swings and I was forced to the ground yet again, but it actually shocked the assassins more than me.

"Hold your fire" ordered the red head "And stay together. If we try to leave this darkness we'll get separated and he'll pick us off one at a time".

Actually I'd take the chance to run like hell. I'd have done that already if not for the fact that the magical darkness would move with me. Besides I was only playing for time. Ace would be able to contact someone and that person would come and help me.

"Something just touched me" the blonde said.

It had been a member of her own team rather than me, but that didn't stop her from lashing out with the whip.

"Everyone get down!" shouted out Cyclops.

The Fearsome Hand of Five did just that, and I knew he was going to sweep the area and blast anything warmer than his surroundings should be, but by then it was too late. My collapsible staff met his mask so hard that something shattered. Hopefully not his skull as I did at one of them to be awake after this.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck" a man shouted.

That was when I heard someone shot my name, and I realised that the supernatural darkness around me would also prevent my allies from finding me. It was risky but I had to end the spells.

"_Zhro_" I whispered in order to end both spells.

Before the darkness could vanish I was on the move. Brute was surprisingly quick on his feet, he tried to tackle me, but having fought Bane I knew what to do.

Using my own superior speed and reflexes I got behind him and used my staff to cut off his supply of air. This tactic might have worked, but before the big guy could pass out something cut open my back and my hands let go off my weapon without me telling them to.

As I dropped to the ground I saw powerful energy blasts strike the assassins and a few of them dropped. I knew it was Blackfire, and I also the only way she could have gotten here so fast was if Ace had contacted her using telepathic powers. Which also meant the teenage meta-human might also be close by.

However that didn't stop me from trying to kick a little ass of my own. The assassin with the staff was still standing and I still had my lightsabre so I used it to try and cut his weapon in half. Only it didn't work, somehow his staff was able to resist mine.

I didn't know who was more surprised, but I recovered from the shock sooner and deactivated the weapon. Which caused staff guy to overextend his weapon went to high so kicked him the knee. That hurt my foot but while I didn't let that slow me down the assassin didn't even seem to feel the blow and the next thing I knew I was pinned down and his staff was pressed down on my neck.

For a moment I feared that I might die yet again, but staff guy suddenly let go and pressed his hands to either sides of his head. He looked like he was going to crushed his own skull like it was an egg. I figured that Ace was making him do that and since she didn't care about the rules concerning not killing people. I knocked the guy out before he could hurt himself. Not for his sake but for hers, no sixteen year old girl should take a life.

Then just like the fight was over. Blackfire landed next to me and Ace walked over to where I was standing. But before either of them could say anything a portal opened and Raven floated out of it.

"I sensed some magic..." she started to say before changing tracks "What the hell happened here?"

There was an old say 'better late than never' however in this case late might as well have been never.

"Assassins" I answered while rubbing my sore neck.

Given that it hurt to talk I guessed that my healing factor was focused on the wound on my back.

"Yeah they were kicking Goth's butt" Blackfire said "Lucky for him, at least I care enough to be here when he needs me".

I could sense an argument coming, but I didn't have the energy to break these up. Thankfully Ace changed the subject.

"Why did you even need us?" she asked me "I mean you took down two groups of Titans last year you really should of destroyed these guys".

It wasn't as simple as that as I'd not been prepared for big fights like I had been back then, but still she had a point. I'd taken down meta-humans, robots, minions, powerful aliens and I'd even killed a version of Superman. I should have been able to deal with five assassins without even breaking into much of a sweat.

Heck I'd killed Deadshot by myself and I'd fought Deathstroke a few times, and that was before becoming the heir of a demon-god. I really should have won this fight.

"I felt the magic you were using" Raven then added "you could take an army out with your powers".

That was indeed possible. I was pretty sure I could wipe out a crowd of people with the right spell. But I'd pussyfooted around with these guys. I'd held back. I was going soft.

"I need more training" I told my girls.

It wasn't hard to figure what had happened. I spent most of my time with my girls or making plans. I just didn't have the rage any more or the desire to win. I'd defiantly gotten soft. Maybe all the killing had effected me more than I realised.

"I think I can help there" Raven offered "It's a big cheat, but if you really want to get stronger I know how".

From what point on I was all ears.

(Line Break)

**Kami's Lookout - Dragonball Z Dimension **

"Raven? What are you doing here so late?" Mr. Popo asked in a calm voice "And who is this".

The Handmaiden of Cosmic Balance had been to this place before. Not that she understood exactly where she was, and frankly trying to figure out how things worked in this messed up dimension just gave her a headache. It was one of the few realities in the omni-verse were her powers didn't make her a cut above the rest. In fact she was rather weak when compared to the heroes and villains of this universe.

"Hello Mr. Popo." Raven said while bowing her head slightly "I'm sorry to drop by without warning. I came here to see if my boyfriend can use the The Hyperbolic Time Chamber".

Gothic wanted to train to become a better warrior, but he didn't really have the time as he had a lot to do and someone had just tried to kill him so he would need to deal with that issue soon.

The Hyperbolic Time Chamber was a way around that. One year inside the chamber was the equivalent to one day on the outside. Plus the chamber had ten times normal gravity and some harsh conditions that would force Gothic's adaptive biology to bring the immortal to very peak of his physical power. And depended on who trained him he might learn to use his other abilities in new ways.

However a full year, or day depending on how you looked at it, would be too long. Half a year or twelve hours would be more than enough by Raven's calculations. But a full day might be better if she could get her lover a good trainer.

"Hello, Raven" said the voice of this Earth's guardian as he walked out of the shadows and into the light. "What is it you need?"

"I want my boyfrined to use the hyperbolic time chamber for special training" Raven said while bowing to the Kami "He won't need the full day. I think six months should do. I don't want him to miss me too much while he's gone".

Gothic was keeping his mouth shut because Raven had requested he do that, and he had nothing to add anyway as he didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Mmm, I see. I am willing to let your young friend use the chamber" Kami said before addressing Raven's boyfriend "So you know if you spend more than two years inside you will be trapped forever".

"I'll keep that in mind." Gothic told the weird green guy.

The immortal hated messing with time, as if nothing else it made things damn confusing, but he was willing to do this.

"Very well, I grant you my permission?" Kami said, now once more speaking to Raven "What do wish him to be trained in".

The spell caster already had her answer.

"Kaio Ken" the magic using girl replied right away "Gothic's got a fragment of Trigon trapped inside him and he's already learned how to tap into the power, but only for external use like in spell casting".

That was not totally true. The immortal could tap into the demonic energy for a physical boost but he couldn't sustain the level of rage needed. He needed to learn a better way to access that power.

"But if he can learn use along with his own Ki, then he he'll have all the power he needs to fight what's to come" Raven added.

Gothic knew that his girlfriend knew things he didn't, but hearing her say that still worried as it meant she knew things about the future he didn't.

"He's also has a strange radiation inside him that keeps him healthy and makes him immortal" Raven went on to say "if he can learn to harness that energy too he might be able to heal others, at the very least he won't have to worry about the damaged caused by increasing his cellular metabolism".

Hearing that made Gothic very eager to undergo this training as he could see it being very useful if only to allow him to heal others.

"I'll see if I can find anyone willing to spend up to a year training you" Kami then said before disappearing again into the shadows.

Once the green man was gone Gothic spoke to his girlfriend.

"So I'll be gone a whole year" he said.

Raven shook her head before answering.

"I don't think you'll need more than six months" she said "You already know all the basics of fighting and you know how to channel energy. Kaio Ken should help you tap into your potential power and if it goes well you'll get a major power up. Besides from what I understand it doesn't feel like as long as it seems. Something do with hypertime".

Gothic liked the sound of that, but he wasn't sure what any of this really meant so he asked another question.

"How powerful will I become?"

"Would you mind… if I don't tell you that? I… want it to be a surprise." Raven said to her lover while looking down shyly.

It was as close to the truth as she could say. It would be a surprise, for Gothic and for everyone else. Even she could only guess at what this sort of training could do for her lover.

"You won't come out of that room as the person you are now" was all she was willing to say.

He'd be the same person in the biology sense and he'd still have the same personality more or less, but he'd be more powerful and older, hopefully wiser too.

"I understand. I suppose you don't want me to tell anyone about any of this either?" Gothic asked her with a kind smile.

Raven smiled back sheepishly with her head tilted down. She was actually kind of aroused by the idea of her lover obtaining this kind of power. His confidence was one of his more attractive attributes, and lately he'd been lacking in that area, but soon (from her perspective) he would become far surer of himself.

"As you wish Goku, but remember what I said and don't get lost in there or destroy the door. I'm sure you don't want to get stuck." Kami was now saying to a young man with quite a lot of dark hair sticking out of his head.

It appeared that the green man had found a trainer. Raven was pleased as self training could only do so much for her partner.

"Mr. Popo is the time chamber fully stocked?" Kami then asked the short black man who was currently pulling dead leaves off some plants.

Raven wasn't a racist, but there was something about Popo that disturbed her just a little. Something to do with the eyes.

"Yes, Kami." Mr. Popo replied.

"Good. Thank you Mr. Popo, I will lead our new friend to the chamber" Kami stated, already walking away with Goku, Gothic and Raven.

"Now this could take up to year" Kami was now saying as he passed the immortal a bag of something "and the conditions inside the chamber are hazardous so you will need these".

Gothic inspected the bag and then said.

"Will we need to go grow a beanstalk?"

Only Ray laughed upon hearing that.

"Just remember to chew them" Kami advised, as he did understand what the immortal had meant "You won't need them to heal, but Goku might and it will help you recover from injury faster".

Then they were outside the chamber.

"Everything you both will need is already inside" Kami was now saying "Goku will giving months of his life to train you I hope you understand what a sacrifice this is".

Raven at least did but she wasn't worried and Gothic was immortal so he was better equipped for this sort of thing.

"If this works out like I hope it does he might be able to give Goku a few years of his life back" she told everyone "or at least undo some of the damage his body has undergone".

Gothic understood partly as he knew that should he be able to transfer some of the radiation in his body into another it would heal and rejuvenate that other person.

"See you tomorrow" Raven called out with a wave, knowing it was time for her to go "Well it will a few months at least for you so I'll cook you a big dinner for when you get back".

That horrified the immortal more than the idea that he was going to spend up to a year with a total stranger.

"Don't you dare Ray!" he shouted.

But she was already walking through a portal, so it was too late.

"She's so evil now" muttered the immortal as he entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

"Will we have to fight her?" Goku asked the door closed.

Kami smirked a little as he locked the two young warriors in the room. They could leave whenever they wished, and from his point of view they'd only be gone a matter of hours but he knew that inside the two men would already be getting to know each other. He wandered if this Gothic would come out sane or not.


	34. Chapter 34

**Joe Lawyer **

Yeah this is that Goku. But don't expect DC Gothic to reach that level of power, he might be evolved but he's still human and he has limits. It's just he's about to find out exactly what they are and he's a got a big power source to tap into for an extra boost.

Don't worry Red-X will be dealt with soon enough. You've only seen samples of what he is up to so the full threat isn't known yet.

Hawaii's beaches will be after all this two parter. DC Gothic will need a vacation.

**master fireball **

I did check out Dragonball Z as you may have guessed, and I decided to use it as a way to power up DC Gothic. I originally had something else in mind but given that DC Gothic doesn't mind cheating I decided to use something from that anime as I liked the idea of a year's training taking place in a day. Screw physics!

**The Observant Reader **

I just couldn't help myself. I had to use that sentence.

**Takao-kun**

Yeah it's going to be bad. Raven doesn't actually know Goku or what its really like inside the chamber so for once she didn't do anything wrong.

Goku is a lot like Superman in some ways. Both are orphaned aliens who crashed on Earth who then grow up to protect the planet as heroes. Mercy is a hero quality and as you said a lot of Goku's foes become allies so it worked out for the best. Anyway Trunks destroyed Frieza, and the Dragon Balls were used to bring back most of the people who died because of Friezea, so Goku sparing his life didn't really mean much in the grand scheme of things.

At least Vegeta proves that you don't need to be a hero to make use of the kind of powers Dragonball Z characters can learn by training.. That guy was an asshole and he still went Super Sayian.

So there's no reason Gothic can't do something similar when he leans to tap into Trigon's powers. There might only be a fragment left but given Trigon's power level even with just a small percentage Gothic will become one of the League's big guns as his other powers will help with that. And that's not even taking into account all the magic he can do.

In short DC Gothic is not going to worrying about assassins once Goku is done training him.

**Keldeox **

In my defence people keep asking me to include anime settings so I am trying to do that without going overboard.

DC Gothic has never been overpowered there are plenty of villains and heroes who are more than a match for him.

Learning DBZ stuff will make him stronger yes but that doesn't mean he'll steal anyone else's girlfriend. Why would he when he can barely cope with the lovers he already has?

He is going to power up from this experience, but it's only a years training so people like Goku could utterly crush DC Gothic if they wished. I mean look at Freeza, that guy had planet destroying attacks.

**ImaRussian**

Well if it means anything this is the last crossover in this story.

DC Gothic can't actually go insane, his brain shuts down to protect him from that sort of thing. But still it's going to be messed up at parts.

I only had a vague awareness of DBZ until recently and unlike DC Gothic I have time to watch videos.

The 5th member of the Fearsom Hand gang, is someone surprising and yes you will see her again.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Journey **

**The Hyperbolic Time Chamber – DBZ Universe **

Ten times gravity hurt. In fact I was pretty sure that had I been a normal human being then Goku would have had to drag me out of the chamber just so I could recover from the experience. But thanks to my adaptive biology and those magic beans I got use to the gravity. In fact by now it seemed only uncomfortable rather than utterly horrible.

"This place can be pretty harsh, the temperatures range from freezing cold to burning hot. The gravity also increases the further you go away from the entrance" Goku had told me.

Given that it had taken me three days just to be able to walk around the house we were now in. I was so not looking forward to putting my body under more stress, but I already knew that I was stronger.

The scientists working for the League had told me that I had more or less reached the limits when it came to improving my physical strength and reflexes. But they had no understanding of what mystical forces could do to the human body. From what Goku had already told me the methods he'd learned allowed human being to fly, direct energy into lethal attacks, and to survive things that would reduce most living beings into a sticky paste.

Also I really hoped that this training would expand my mind because there was no night or day in this place only a constant bright iridescent white aurora. That made it hard to sleep and really messed with my body cloak. If I didn't mentally adapt to this strangeness I'd need my own cell in Arkham before too long.

The there was that wide, vast area of white that stretched for miles on end. I could not tell where the walls were and there as no way to measure the distance as there were no obstacles, no other natural structures, just a whole lot of nothing.

I'd seen some crazy shit over the last two years. I'd fought demons in Tartarus and I'd flown to the moon but this place was beyond even my comprehension. If the lack of night and day didn't drive me mad then this nothingness would.

"Well Gothic, are you ready to get down to training?" Goku asked me as me I looked out at nothing.

I didn't reply to the Saiyan right away. For some time I just looked at the chamber. It was nothing but I was here so it had to be somewhere otherwise how could I be in it.

When thinking about it grew to much I ended that line of thinking and focused on why I was here.

"I think so" was my reply.

Goku nodded and stretched out, stepping onto the very first surface of white and I followed. The pull of gravity came down hard on both of us yet he didn't seem to feel it.

"Well then lets get started!" Goku exclaimed happily as he led me a little further away from the house that was within the chamber.

"How big is this place?" I asked.

There was still a part of mind that wanted to put limits on this place even while other parts of my brain told me that there weren't any.

"Mr. Popo said: for an eternity," the hero replied. "The gravity increases 50 times with every mile you journey out there, and the weather as well as the atmosphere becomes ever more unpredictable. And the place can change to reflect what's inside you. Who knows what you might find".

Given that was inside me I was already afraid, but I also knew that I'd have to face it in order to grow stronger and perhaps even wiser. I wasn't here to obtain inner peace, although a little might be a good thing, I was here to evolve and evolution as achieved through struggle.

"You need to work hard here" Goku was now saying "I'm giving up months of my life to train you. Don't make it a waste of time".

I could see his point. I might be around in a thousand years but he didn't have months to waste. Plus he had a wife and child he couldn't see again until this was over much like I would miss my girls. They wouldn't miss us as for them we'd been gone for a matter of hours, but if this time was wasted then it all that heartache would be for nothing.

"I'll give it my best" I assured Goku.

It was a promise I intended to keep.

"Good, that's all I asked," the young Saiyan replied with a big smile.

He then took a few more strides into the white distance and then on and on into the vast nothing that was everything but the house. He was testing my resolve I knew that so I followed him.

(Line Break)

As the minute passed in the outside world continued ticking on, weeks were passing for me within the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.

I had to admit that already things were really looking up for me. Goku had me in a steady training routine. Session after session he worked me hard as he could so that I would surpass what I had achieved before and every day I had managed to push myself beyond even Goku's expectations.

In two jumps I could get hight enough to get onto the roof of the house. Which meant I in normal gravity I'd be able to make it over the house in a single jump.

Only a month had past, and I had once, just once, been able to land a blow on Goku. He'd been using a fraction of his actual power, but even in that state he was so fast that landing that blow had been an major feat.

Currently Goku was taking it easy with a quiet meditation inside the only building this place. Which left me free to amuse myself for a change.

Normally we talked between sessions, or ate, or slept. There were no distractions here and since Goku and I actually had very little in common so there was nothing we could talk about that didn't training of some sort. I was learning Japanese and Chinese from my trainer, which was important as Goku didn't know how to explain the philosophy behind the teaching he was trying to pass on in English.

However he was in mood to teach me anything else right now so I went for a walk. I always kept the house I was living in within sight so I didn't actually go that far but distance meant little here.

As I walked the landscape changed around me. It became a desolate place with streams of lava and waterfalls of blood. But the most noticeable thing was Trigon sitting on crude throne that looked to have been carved out of the rock face. Also Slade was here, he was standing on a cliff above and staring at me with his one eye.

To begin with I thought this might just be an illusion built from my own fears and unresolved issues. Things in my past had been holding me back stopping me from achieving all I was capable of becoming. On the other hand Trigon and Slade had tried to mystical transfer themselves into my body. So these versions of them could be their spiritual remains that still lingered somewhere inside me.

That theory when out the window when I saw the third and final figure. Ra's al Ghul was also standing on a cliff looking down at me. The symbolism of that did not escape me.

"_My heir" _said Trigon in a way that echoed.

"My apprentice" said Slade in his chilling voice.

"My successor" finished Ra's al Ghul.

Then appeared another figure standing in a fire that had appeared before my eyes. I looked into the flames and saw myself. Which wasn't a surprise as I'd seen enough movies and TV shows to know that at some point this experience would led to me fighting myself. It was traditional.

Evil me had yellow eyes that slightly glowed and face was an expression of pure rage. The copy floated above me, totally resistant to the flames. He remained that way, completely silent. The only signs of life this darker version of myself showed was the way he was looking at me.

The fire's ferocity became greater, the evil me gritted his teeth and anger crossing his expression. His eyes now showed nothing but a deep, endless rage and an aura of black flames exploded around him. No yell emerged from his lips yet the whole thing was explosive in a way no scream could ever hope to express.

Although the fire continued to rage around me it the air was now cold. I could see my breath steaming in the air as I exhaled and readied myself for the fight I knew was coming.

I was right the two of us engaged in a furious brawl. We both pummeled each other mercilessly, but it was an even match right up until the point I received a punishing jab across my cheek. I countered with a kick straight up to the stomach of evil me and the blow were tremendous in power. However evil me (who I could now see was wearing the outfit I'd seen in myself wearing as Slade's bitch) was not even staggered by my attack.

He was just about to launch himself at me when a blur crossed my vision and sent evil me flying into the base of Trigon's throne.

"So this is the kind of trouble you get into when I'm not around" a familiar voice said.

Again I wasn't really surprised that it was Kara who had come to my defence. If anyone could be the avatar of my better nature it was here and I was clued into this by the fact that she as in her old Supergirl outfit rather then the leathers she wore when with me.

"Hey sweetie" she greeted "How you been?"

I struggled to answer that question, but I didn't need to give her one.

"Yeah I know your on a big journey" Kara then said "I'm here to help, in case you didn't guess".

Despite the fact that I was speaking to a figment of my own imagination, or something along those lines, I was very happy to see her. So much so that I hugged her even though I should have been keeping an eye on what was going on around me.

"So what do we have her?" Kara asked me once the hug was done and she had the chance to look around "Well this is all very creepy. You have too many other people in your head".

That was hard to argue with, it was getting crowed in here.

"Well I'm a bit of an expert in you" Kara, or whatever part of me she represented, was now saying "So I'd say that these guys here want you to be evil like them".

Yeah I'd figured that, but since Kara here would have no more information than I did so her conclusion was to be expected. Besides she was distracted by having to deal evil me's attacks. He'd gotten up again and just didn't seem to understand that he was totally outmatched.

"And you're fighting your dark side" the part of me Kara portrayed went on to say "I think you have to reject them and find your own path. That includes me".

I'd been right with her up until that last part.

"What do you mean?" I asked Kara as she once more sent the darker version of myself flying into rock face "You have to be a good part of me".

Kara smiled, but it was a sad smile.

"I don't think it's that simple" she explained "and since I'm part of your messed up head that means you know it too. This is a journey of self discovery and growth. I'm part of your past and like the evil watching us I was trying to make you into something your not".

Well I'd know that I'd just never seen it as a bad thing. Apparently some part of me didn't agree.

"You remember Halloween" Kara then said "the Traveller might be some insane god who likes to mess with your life, but he was right about one thing. I was trying to domesticate you".

Not that I'd minded.

"But that's not what makes you strong" the figment went on to say "You're a warrior and a hero, even if you've never been comfortable in that role. In your heart you want to make a difference, but you can't do that while trying to play happy families".

The scary thing here was that she was making a lot of sense. I'd been weak when I arrived and it was my adventures that made me stronger. I'd spent so much time and energy trying to have a normal home life that I'd gone from being a leader to the guy that needed saving.

"You grow stronger when you struggle" Kara then reminded me "it's conflict that drives you. Comfort is nice, but it's weakening you. Sweetie, you have to stop trying to live normally and embrace who you are".

I disagree but she was actually part of me so really I was telling myself this, and I was right.

"So what I should stop trying to have my messed up little family?" I asked Kara "cause it's all I have".

She might just be me, but this fragment of my personality had taken this form for a reason. I actually listened to Kara.

"No of course you can" the figment assured me "You just need to stop worrying about it so much. You should have some happiness, and you can could if you weren't stopping yourself".

Now I was confused and as Kara once more sent evil me away I formulated a question.

"I am trying to make myself happy. Where am I going wrong?".

Kara answered right away.

"Well take Galatea. You've been holding back with her. You could be shagging her rotten if you wanted to. And don't give me the super strength excuse because I installed red sunlight bulbs in the basement. You could have put a bed down there, maybe some candles and some music to help get in the mood. You know that but on some level you held back".

That was another good point.

"And I know she's my daughter" Kara was now saying "and that's why you won't rock her world".

Again she was making sense.

"But I'm a thousand years away, she here" Kara added "she needs you, not just as a boyfriend but a real friend. She's alone in the world she doesn't know where she comes from or what she could do with her life. If you really want to make a different then be a man and love her".

Which was sort of a blessing. Well I was going to take it as one.

"Besides if you think about it's really my fault she loves you" my blonde goddess then said "I had the psychic link with her so I knew she was seeing my life and even sharing feelings with me. If I had told you might have been prepared, but did I even talk to you about it".

What she had just said hadn't ended with a question, but I gave her an answer anyway.

"No you didn't".

This time Kara didn't even look at evil me she just held out her hand, grabbed him by the should and just threw him away like he was a piece of trash rather than a deadly enemy.

"Of course not" she said "I wasn't perfect I made mistakes and kept things hidden. I even made fun of you sometimes because I was worried that you might become someone who didn't need me so much. People do that stupid things when they're in love, so you should trust Raven".

Okay now I was confused again as that had been a rather sudden change of subject, but I was able to catch up fast.

"But she doesn't always tell me everything" I protested.

"If she told you everything she wouldn't need you to trust her" Kara pointed out "and you know she really does have your best interests at heart so what it really comes down to as if you trust her or not".

I thought about it and decided that I did actually trust Raven. I'd been in her mind and I'd even worn her meatsuit for a while. If I couldn't trust her then I couldn't trust anyone, and that was no way to live.

"Right I better go soon" my past and future girlfriend told me "if I don't leave the creepy dudes won't and nothing will get resolved. I've given you enough to think about. I don't want to overtax your caveman brain".

I didn't think everything had been resolved.

"What about Blackfire and Ace?" I asked "we didn't cover them".

Kara smirked before saying.

"They're happy you silly caveman. Blackfire loves you that's so obvious and she's never going to stop and as for Ace, well considering what she was like when you first met her. I'd say you've worked a miracle".

Well she was doing okay really, all things considered. Given what had happened in her past she should still be a crazy bitch bent on driving people mad. Compared to that her being a hormonal teenage girl with a crush on me really wasn't that big of a deal.

"Anyway" Kara said as she blew me a kiss and started to fly away "go be nearly as awesome as me and kick some ass. I'll see you in a thousand years, honey!".

For some reasons I waved despite the fact that it really hadn't been her. It just seemed like the thing to do. I didn't stop waving until something hit me from behind and knocked me to the ground.

"Right the fight with my evil alter ego" I reminded myself as I stood up and then dusted myself off.

When he came at me again I side stepped his blow and said.

"I am so gonna make you cry for our mother!".

That was another promise I intended to keep. He was going down.


	35. Chapter 35

**Author Notes**

I know you were all expecting to see the second part of DC Gothic's training, but I decided to be a jerk and make you wait by supplying you with some pointless filler. Bah ha ha ha ha ha!.

Of course since I will upload the next chapter with this one you can just skip it. But if you do then you'll miss out on something important.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Girl's Night Out **

**A Bar – Jump City – February 2003 **

It was night time in Jump City, however this was no normal evening this was a special event.

For it was girl's night.

Tonight the girls weren't in their uniforms. Blackfire had on a purple jacket with matching high heel boots. The outfit also had a matching mini skirt, which showed off her long legs. She wore a white tank top, that not only exposed her stomach, but some cleavage as well. She kept her hair as normal, however that was only because she'd not had the time to do anything with it.

Galatea always had the time, but only because she could move at super speed yet she'd just put on some denim shorts, a white t-shirt that didn't really fit and some trainers. She little sense of modesty, didn't get cold she didn't have any fashion sense either, so simply couldn't understand the importance of clothes

Raven had gotten dressed up, well as much she ever did get dressed up. She was wearing black pants that hugged her curves with black boots. A tight purple shirt covered some of her torso and over that she wore a leather jacket that she'd borrowed from a certain person without his permission. But it had a cool protection spell on it and nothing got Ray more buzzed than cool bits of magic.

The bar was quiet and almost empty, which was odd given the time of night but none of the young women minded. They made their way to the front of the bar and took a seat on the red cushioned bar seats.

As Raven removed the 'borrowed' jacket she checked her watch, which she had also taken without asking.

"She's late" the magic user complained.

"Traffic maybe." suggested Blackfire with a shrug "We can't all fly or teleport you know".

The bar door opened, ringing the bell that was placed above it. It revealed the person that Raven, Galatea and Blackfire had all been waiting for.

"Its bout damn time you showed up." said Raven, not even turning around to greet the fourth but not final member of the tonight's group.

This was the only night off from either her home life or her love life she'd had in a while and also her first chance ever to get drunk with her new friends. She did not want to waste a moment of this freedom.

"Jeez, Raven, a hello wound be nice." said Jinx, while taking a seat next to the purple haired woman.

Like the others she was dressed far more casually then normal and was even wearing her hair differently. Few people would recognize her.

"Hey" greeted Blackfire, cheerfully as to make for Ray's less than warm welcome "it's great to see you".

They had actually met before, and the story was an interesting one as it involved intergang and a bomb hidden somewhere in New Orleans, but since tonight was about work none of that was mentioned.

"Can we order yet?" asked Galatea.

She was ready to forget her problems and have a drink. She couldn't actually drunk, but any activity that could distract her from her concern was very welcome.

"Yeah," answered Raven. "And don't worry, 'Tea, we'll order for you"

"Thanks" Power Girl replied.

She had no idea what was good to drink as the only thing she actually needed to drink was water.

The bartender came over to the four girls and set glasses down, one in front of each girl. In a blur Blackfire grabbed her glass and raised it up.

"As they say on this planet 'bottoms up'!".

She swallowed the drink in one gulp, as did the other females. The bartender made sure not to keep them waiting and refilled their drinks. The girls drank in silence and they only sound heard was the door being opened as more normal people began to file in.

"So, Jinx," Raven said, while taking a sip of her latest drink. "What brought you back to Jump City".

Jinx had been a member of the East Coast Titans until the group had been shut down, but since then Ray had heard nothing about her old enemy. However Jinx wasn't ready to talk about it. At least not yet anyway.

"Well it's not the tequila" the pink haired girl answered

Blackfire had just drank down another shot of tequila. The others looked at her with curious eyes, surprised she could drink so fast. She looked back at them in confusion.

"What? I like tequila" she said in a defensive way.

To her it didn't taste that strong, but it was better than most of what this planet had to offer.

"We all like the tequila," said Raven. "It doesn't mean we should be on our forth glass already".

"Yeah, what's the deal?" asked Galatea, curious as to why everyone seemed to want to get drunk.

"It's nothing, really" Blackfire said.

"Guy troubles." said Jinx

"How'd you know?" the alien princess asked.

Ray's concern was rather minor and it was her fault anyway as she'd been the one to suggest the whole harem thing. As for Galatea she was just frustrated with the lack of sex in her life, or to be more precise she was annoyed that she was still a virgin. The thing bugging Blackfire was far more important that these issues.

"It's kinda obvious you're all here for a reason," continued Jinx. "And since you all have the same the same guy it makes sense".

"And I thought Ace was the mind reader" mumbled Raven

Which was the main reason the young meta-human wasn't here, that and there was no way anyone would believe she was twenty-one. At least not until Ace made them think it by altering their minds but it was best not to go down that road it if could be so easily avoided.

"So did he do something wrong?" Jinx inquired.

There was no need to mention who this 'he' was.

"I suppose so." said Blackfire while looking down at the ice cubes that floated in her drink "or I guess it could be the right thing".

Raven sighed before saying.

"What he do this time?"

Having three girlfriends was not as fun as it might sound. Even an evolved human only had so much stamina and there weren't enough hours in the day for each of them the attention they desired.

"Exactly what men are suppose to do" Blackfire told the group "and he did it".

Which didn't actually the question.

"You should dump his ass" said Jinx, who was now getting glares from Raven and Galatea "he doesn't need three of you. Go get a man of your own".

Blackfire took a sip of her drink while pondering what to say.

"It's not that easy" she said to the villain "I wanted him to do it and it's kinda too late anyway".

Raven was actually wishing they had been able to bring Ace with them. Even her empathic powers weren't helping here it would take someone with proper telepathy to get a straight answer from Blackfire.

Who here thinks Aqualad is hot?" Jinx said rather randomly.

Raven raised her hand, as did Blackfire, despite the fact that she had never met him, It didn't end there, even many of the customers raised there hand. Some who were even guys, and this wasn't even a gay bar.

"Oh wow." said Galatea

"I had no idea Aqualad had this many fans" Blackfire remarked.

She might never had met the hero, but she'd seen his file so she had a fair idea of who he was and what he had done.

"I can see why," Raven said. "Aqualad is hot."

This comment made the other girls look at her.

"Well...um...Gothic is sexier" Raven decided to say.

Galatea didn't even think it was a content. In her view her guy was the best in the world and no one even compared. Although that was only because her mother had imprinted that view upon her lab grown daughter. Not that knowing this changed anything for Karen.

"Yeah, but Aqualad is way hotter" said Jinx in a dreamy state of mind.

Had Ace been here she would of noticed that the pink haired wasn't actually thinking about that man. Her head was full of other images.

"Goth is just as good as Aqualad." Komand'r said, more than a little annoyed "Maybe even better since he can't die".

Which was a useful skill for a super hero what with all the bad guys trying to kill them.

"Yeah, but Aqualad has a nice body" pointed out Jinx as she actually started to think about the underwater hero "And nice hair, and eyes you get lost in forever, and he has pretty cool powers and that voice".

Karen had to comment.

"He can breathe under water and he talks to fish. How is that cool? He doesn't even use magic. Now that's awesome".

It was impressive to the lab grown alien as she couldn't even cast the most simple of spells. Her lack of any defence against the mystic arts combined with inability to understand them made it all very exotic in her mind.

"And he doesn't make jokes all the time" Jinx added "And he has a pretty fine ass."

"Okay, enough," yelled Raven to stop the Aqualad praising "Yes he has all of the above, but I like Goth"

The girls became silent and sipped there drinks. When the lack of talking got to them Jinx had to say something.

"Not that it matters cause I'm dating Red-X".

In the view of the three heroines they could have been more surprised.

"Should I arrest her?" Power Girl asked her friends "I think we're suppose to put accomplices in jail".

She was pretty new to the whole thing, but she was sure that she was suppose to put the girlfriends of villains behind bars. Assuming of course they knew that their boyfriends were law breakers.

"We have a truce on girl's night" Ray explained "We can hunt her down when we get over our hangovers".

Which at this rate would sometime tomorrow afternoon.

"And I get a head start" Jinx added.

Not that it would help, but it was traditional.

"Terra's on her way and oh Bumblebee's gonna make it" Raven then slurred "She'll _bee_ here in half an hour".

That go no laughs.

"You're no comedian" Blackfire said "don't quit your day job".

To be fair it was an important day job. Helping to maintain Cosmic Balance was hard work.

"I'm pregnant" Blackfire suddenly told everyone.

They'd all be wrong before. They could be more surprised.

"Should you be drinking?" Galatea asked.

Again she was wasn't one hundred percent clear on this but she'd heard it was a bad thing.

"I'll be fine" Komand'r assured everyone "My Mother drank a lot when she was pregnant and there is nothing wrong with me or Starfire or Wildfire... on second thoughts I'll stop right now".

Having thought it over Blackfire decided that it wasn't worth the risk. She might be alright all things considered but her younger siblings had some major issues.

(Line Break)

Hours later the bar was empty and group of six girls was now sitting at a table drinking something that wasn't tequila. Not that most of them even noticed as their taste buds had already gone to bed.

"Do you know what else he folds his socks" Jinx was saying "It's so silly, he's suppose to be a super villain!"

The girls laughed once again.

"At least your guy is clean," Terra cut in between the laughs. "It took a whole month for me to get Beast Boy to start cleaning his room up in the Watchtower. I don't thinks he's finished cause he's always in my room".

That last part didn't bother Terra at all.

"At least he doesn't complain when you touch his stuff," Bumblebee said before doing her best to mimic Cyborg. "Don't touch that, that's my baby. No the T-car needs two coats of wax!"

"Oh, you wanna know else?" Jinx asked before answering "My guy he sings...in the shower!"

The laughs started all over again.

"You know something," Raven began as she entered the more depressing stage of getting drunk "We put up with a lot cause of our guys".

"Tell me about it." Blackfire said.

She sipping something that was harmless to the baby growing inside her. Alcohol didn't effect her species like it did humans it wasn't bad for them, but it was too humans and she was infested by a half human parasite so she decided to stop with the booze.

"Why do we do that thing?" Bumblebee asked, while hoping she was making some sense "the thing were we put up with men".

It took them all some time to come up with answer but one of them got there a little quicker than the others.

"You mean love," Jinx replied "I hate it when that happens. I didn't even get any warning. It was like bam!".

She wasn't exaggerating. She hadn't know Red-X very long but she'd already fallen hard.

"Is Red-X really Jason Todd" Raven then asked "it might be important".

Jinx just shook her head. She was going to tell them because frankly it was even more shocking than the news that the exiled alien princess had a bun in the oven.

"Love sucks" mumbled Blackfire.

She hadn't asked to fall in love with anyone. That was all Ace's fault, but as much as was currently bumming her out, she had to admit that she though her life was more worth while these days.

Besides what really sucked wasn't fact she'd gotten knocked up, as that had kind of been the point of going into heat, no what was really upsetting her was what Starfire was going to do about it.

"It so does" Bumblebee yelled, slamming her fist on the table. "We are strong independent women! It's time we take control of our lives"

"You're right, Bee," Jinx said. "The problem with us is we let love get in the way of our control of our lives"

That sentence had sounded so much better in her head.

"As much as I hate to say it," said Raven as she resisted the urge to rest her head on the table "I don't want to change. I've changed enough. No more change, please".

They each refilled their glass, and wisely decided not to order another bottle of whatever it was they were drinking. It was very late and they all things to do tomorrow.

"This has been the most fun I've had in weeks," Bumblebee said. "Let's make a toast."

"To what?" Terra asked as her mind had been else where just then.

"To girl's night" was what Bee said.

"And stupid boyfriends" Galeta added, who was actually stone cold sober and finding this all very funny.

However someone in the group was not so happy.

"Guys, it's almost 11:30," Raven said. "We've been drinking for about... many hours and that means I'm late... maybe".

At this point Ray had forgotten how to tell the time.

"I guess we should be going home, huh?" said Blackfire.

They all had a lot of packing to do before the planning weekend away.

"We should do this again." Jinx said.

"Defiantly," Bumblebee said, standing up. "Oh man I'm tired. I gotta call Cyborg to pick me up. We're supposed to go to Titans East Tower tomorrow to get it ready for the reopening and then I need to be packed by lunch time"

"Me and Blackfire need to go pick up Goth" Raven said "I was suppose to bring him home two hours ago or maybe it's in two hours. I forgot how long he's been gone".

And to do that she needed to sober up. Thankfully there was a potion just for that. Also she hadn't intended to take Komand'r with her but given her important news it was a good idea to drag the alien princess along.

"What about you, Jinx" asked Power Girl "I could drop you off at the police station. You can sleep there, and it will save me the effort of catching you in the morning".

Clearly Galatea did not understand that the truce also involved letting Jinx go free after the drinking, and she suppose to have time to recover.

"I'm gonna catch a cab" the pink haired girl decided.

Then she was going to hide somewhere and not go to the beach house with everyone else.

The girls paid their bill and walked out to the dark streets of Jump City. They were greeted by a nice cool breeze. They promised each other that they would do this again sometime, but before they left they reminded themselves of what they talked about. Jinx waved good-bye as she hopped into a yellow cab. A few seconds later, Cyborg picked up Bumblebee and Blackfire and Raven flew back to their home so Ray could get her sobering potion.


	36. Chapter 36

**Reviews **

**War Sage**

Thank you.

**Joe Lawyer**

Kara is awesome, even when she isn't really her.

Yes there will a quite a bit of self discovery and growth during DC Gothic's time in the chamber. However I will skip the rest of that and show how awesome Goku is.

**Author Note **

Now the filler is behind us and we can back to the things that really matter in life.

Which is learning to fight evil using super powers that were taught to you by an alien while you were in another dimension. That's the important thing.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Journey 2**

**The Hyperbolic Time Chamber – DBZ Universe **

In this place it was hard to tell time, which explained the big damn clock. For me the days had turned into weeks and now whole months had gone by without me really even realising it. I was aware that time had past, but it didn't seem so bad to me.

I knew it had been eight months. Eight months of gruelling training, of mental conditioning, of spiritual growth, and of putting up with a possibly insane alien who wanted to drive me mad.

Well that last part wasn't so odd for me. I'd had to put up with many aliens who had seemed to want to drive me crazy during my time in the DC Universe, but Goku was something else.

"Here, put them on," Goku said to me while handing over a gi, undershirt, and wristbands.

Having lived with this mad man for the better part of a year I wasn't shy around him so I just stripped off and within minutes I had managed to wiggle into the new clothes.

"These clothes are heavy" I commented.

Which was odd because they looked to be rather light.

"Yep" Goku agreed. "The wrist bands weigh ten pounds apiece and the undershirt weighs twenty pounds".

And that was at normal Earth gravity, so here they'd been a lot heavier and as such they would slow me down. Plus to make things even worse I'd just spent an hour exercising so I was already worn out.

"I know it'll be difficult at first" Goku was now saying to me. "But you'll get used to the added weight and it'll make you stronger".

Well that was why I was here.

"Run a few laps to get use to the weight" the alien fighter instructed me.

I did just that and when I stopped I wasn't allowed to rest.

"Now your ready to be tested!" my teacher went on to say "everything until now has been to prepare you to face me".

Oh he had to be fucking kidding me. We'd been here for thirty-eight weeks and only now was he taking me seriously.

"Take a moment to prepare yourself" the alien warrior advised me "I won't be holding back nearly as much as I normally do".

Assuming that Goku hadn't been exaggerating when telling me about the battles he had thought then I was really in for it now. Even without going Super Sayian he was a deadly mofo so I headed his advice and tapped into the energies within my body.

There were three different source of power within me chi as I called it, or _ki_ as Goku did, roughly it translated as 'life force' in essence it was the energy that sustained living things. It was like The Force in that it flowed for all things and could be used to perform superhuman feats, but there was nothing supernatural about it. With the right training any person could use it for many different techniques.

When fighters, such as myself and Goku gathered _ki_, we were able to gain enhanced strength, speed, endurance, and we could increase the power of our attacks to inflict greater damage to opponents. However because there were physical limits to the strength of the body it was necessary to increase one's _ki_ to become stronger. Which was mostly what I had been doing here for months on end.

The other kind of power within me was demonic. I'd learned how to access at least some of Trigon's vast powers, but because demons were mystical creatures rather than part of nature this energy was magical unlike _ki_. They were close enough to mistaken for each other, but the power that animated demons could be effected by Nth metal were as Ki was not. Which also meant that _ki_ attacks were unlikely to harm Superman and Galatea like spells could.

However since both sources of power were inside me I could draw upon them using the methods Goku had taught me and I could even combine the two different types of energy. Still even with that I was no match for Goku in his normal state, never mind when he went Super Sayian. I could however somewhat mimic the whole Super Sayian thing by using the power of Trigon's spirit.

I'd had a few mental blocks to get past before getting to this point, but after defeating the part of me that was all rage and hate, and I'd done that by not fighting, I could now channel the energies within me by focusing my rage into something more than a blunt instrument, it was extremely tiring to flood my body and aura with that much power, but every time I did it got a little easier and I could hold it for longer. Plus as an immortal it did me no long term harm.

That said it wasn't the sort of strain I wanted to put myself under very often. I would save it for the big fights if only because it became harder to limit collateral damage in this state and even with my healing factor it still took me some time to recover. This negative effect increased the more power I gave myself meaning that I had to control my anger or I ran the risk of passing out due to the stresses.

The final source of energy was the strange radiation that made me immortal and gave me such an impressive healing factor. As of yet I had been unable to access this power, but I was sure that over time I would figure out how to do that.

However I couldn't worry about that right now, it was time to fight. Life energy and demonic power filled my body and I created an aura of flames around me that were transparent enough to see through while also looking rather scary. I imagined that quite a few bad guys would run away in terror upon seeing me like this.

"Watch yourself Gothic!" warned Goku with a laugh, as he sent a barrage of _ki_ blasts at me from behind.

I was surprised only momentarily, and before the attacks could reach me I was able to turn around and raise my arms, which allowed me to deflect the _ki_ blasts. I couldn't block the attacks or absorb them, but I was able to protect myself by diverting the assault away from my body.

I then channeled my own _ki_, which was combined with the demonic power of Trigon, to create what I called 'explosive fireball' which did exactly what the name suggested. Such a weak attack would not harm my yeacher, as he could have easily dodged or deflect, but I never got to see him do either as he had simply vanished.

That was when I used another trick I'd picked up: _Ki_ sensing. This was ability to sense the location, life force, and power level of anyone; the stronger and closer the enemy, the more powerful the sensation. Also, if a person's _ki_ was very powerful, it could be sensed from far away.

It was useful but it had it's limits. For example power levels didn't take into account any special abilities a fight might have. Also having a lower power level than your foe didn't mean they would defeat you as battles were often chaotic and other factors had to be accounted for, such as how many techniques both warriors knew.

An interesting thing was that the undead couldn't be sensed this way as they had no _ki_ and robots were machines so they had no life energy either, and therefore couldn't be sensed, but on the plus side it also meant that I wouldn't be fooled by any machine or undead creature pretending to be a person as the only time real people didn't have life energy was when they were dead.

Another problem was that Goku knew another trick that he had been able to teach me, which was to hide your power level. If he was close by I could still sense him but I couldn't right now which meant he'd used an ability I hadn't learn that was called: Instant Transmission.

This technique was used for travelling long distances instantly. It had been taught to Goku when he was on Planet Yardrat, which he'd visited after his battle with the evil Lord Frieza. However he couldn't use it to leave this place so that limited where he could be from anywhere the universe to anywhere in here, which actually didn't help much as this messed up chamber seemed to go on forever and since Goku had trained in one hundred times normal gravity he could go a lot further away from the house than I could.

"Hi, Gothic!" a voice cried.

I looked up and felt like a complete fool. Goku was flying above me, he'd not teleported at all he'd just flown up so fast I'd missed it, but not before lowering power level so I couldn't detect him. Also he'd had the time to charge up another of his Ki attacks.

"Bloody hell" I moaned.

Since there was nothing else I could do I stood my ground in the face of the upcoming blast. Thankfully all my training and the intense gravity had really toughened me up so I was able to stay rooted to the spot. Which wasn't that impressive as he'd no doubt been holding back.

Seeing that I was still standing Goku began to gather more energy and this was when my one advantage over my teacher became useful. I might not actually be the smartest human being around, but I could process things quicker than most people could.

This ability allowed me to plan out a strategy of attack or counter-attack before the person I was fighting had even made their first move. It wasn't that special, in fact it wasn't even a superhuman feet because Robin could do it too, but in contrast to me last mentor, Goku really wasn't that fast in the mental department, so I knew what he was doing and was able to mimic his actions.

"Ka-me-ha-me-ha!" we both bellowed in the same instant, as we sent massive blasts of energy at each other.

My energy was more magical fire than life energy which made it red were as Gok's was much brighter. They collided midway but not for long, and this time I did fall to the ground as Goku's purer and stronger energy overwhelmed my own.

Also it didn't help that I hadn't yet learned to handle this sort of power for very long and while I could sustain my anger fuelled state for longer than this I'd never fired such a powerful blast before. I had to let go of the rage and stopped the flow of Ki and magic.

My body was in a lot of pain, and I felt like I'd stopped breathing for a while but despite that I was able to stand up again, if only because I was stubborn bastard sometimes.

"Hey, you're doing pretty good," said Goku with a smile and a thumbs up.

Given that Goku was not the kind of person to lie, at least not very well. I took his words at face value.

"I learned from the best" I replied.

The guy was like a martial arts god in my books so any praise of my fighting skill from him meant quite a lot.

"Now have a sensubean and we'll do that again".

My smile turned upside down upon hearing that as I really wanted to go and lie down, but I'd never become the super hero I needed to be by resting every time I wanted a nap. Granted I didn't intend to use this sort of fighting style very often but given how many times the DC Earth I lived on had been invaded then one day I might have to sustain my super form for more than a few minutes.

With this in mind I chewed and swallowed one of the magic healing beans. They had a very strange taste and I still had a strong desire to try to grow a magic beanstalk, but they did the job. The mental strain was still an issue, as that was more psychological than anything else, but my body was ready to go.

Once more I let the rage within me come to the surface in a controlled way and with it came the demonic power of Trigon's spirit. And along with that came the life energy hidden inside all living things and my body was soon surrounded by an aura of fire.

Then I sensed a big source of life energy behind me, and I sent a bolt of fire right at Goku. The firebolt, an attack I'd named, was like a fireball that been stretched out. I'd never seen from an angle that would allow me to see its true shape but I imagined it was like having a tiny comet fly by.

Flames seemed to engulf the Saiyan completely as now I could even see him, and naturally I was delighted at the prospect of defeating my teacher.

"I love Instant Transmission" said a very cheerful voice from behind me.

That was when I turned around to see that Goku was perfectly fine, in fact he was smiling like the proverbial cat who gotten the cream.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

I'd guessed but I wanted to know for sure.

"Instant Transmission can be used to evade attack" my teacher explained "and it's instantaneous so I just moved out of the way".

He'd moved before the attack had connected with his body but after it had struck his aura, if he'd moved sooner the firebolt would have kept on going and he'd know that.

"Okay now I'm really going to get you" I promised Goku "no more holding back".

"Of course, wouldn't be a test if we did!" the super powered alien replied with another big gin.

Oh gods he was going to beat the snot out of me. The smile on his face might be cheery, but I knew the true warrior that lived beneath that far too happy exterior.

Goku shifted into his fighting stance, making it obvious that this time he would wait for me to land the first blow and he didn't have to wait long. I dashed within striking distance of my teacher, and I aimed a flaming punch to the right of his head. Goku blocked easily enough with his right arm, but before he could attack me I tried to kick him as the only chance I had off lasting more than a few a few seconds was to force the strong Saiyan to stay on defense.

After the fourth hit, Goku grabbed my leg and was not doubt preparing to use Dragonthrow which was Goku's signature grapple throw. But I was prepared for this and used this hold to position a kick to left of my mentor's head. It was likewise caught, however I'd seen this coming so I twisted my torso enough to get a hand on the ground.

Only this didn't have the desired effect, rather than me turning the tables on Goku as planned the alien just span around and let go. Which was very unpleasant, but nausea was rarely an issue for me.

I got up and turned sharply, then I sent a barrage of mixed magic and ki blasts at Goku. I sent so many that I was blinded by all the light and when I could see again my teacher was no where to be seen.

"Really I thought you had more in you than that, Gothic" Goku said from behind me.

This time however I'd seen it coming. He'd pulled this trick earlier and it was never smart to do that with me. I had the habit of learning very quickly when doing so really mattered.

"I have more" I told Goku as I took some deep breathes "I even have enough for a _Demon Punch!_"

Demon Punch was when I let the demonic fire flow through my arm and out of my hand. At first it just looked like I was punching thin air only the flames that would keep going. It was an attack that hit with a lot more kinetic energy than a standard fireball.

Goku's eyes widened just as he realised what I'd done, but he had really good reflexes so he just batted the assault aside like it was nothing more than an annoying bug.

"That was a good try, Gothic but don't think something like that'll..."

The master martial artist quickly pushed himself back to evade the dozen or so karate moves I tried to use on him, then he put me down on the ground with one hit and Goku soon floated above me looking very relaxed.

"You want to end it now, Gothic?" asked Goku, "You look a little sleepy".

I felt it to. I'd never fought anyone like the Sayian. I had done battle with foes much more powerful than me, but that had been while wearing my power armour or when I'd been with a team. This was very different.

"I'm fine…" I replied between deep breathes. "If have to defend the Earth, I can just quit. I have to keep going"

With I rose into the air and I felt as if it was determination burning like a flame rather than my anger. Which was much to Goku's amusement and I so wanted to wipe that

"Ka-me…"

Goku responded in kind, holding his hands out, perhaps preparing his own Kamehameha.

"Ha-me…"I finished.

However rather than fire energy at me Goku vanished again and while it was too late to stop the flow of power I could use the energy in a different way. It was just a matter of timing it right.

"Solar Flare!" I shouted as I turned on the spot.

I saw Goku's eyes widened in surprise, the exact opposite of what he should have done in this situation. The technique blinded him due to the flash and as the energy faded away he held his hands to his eyes.

"HA!" I heard myself say.

My next series of blows caught him completely off guard. No attack alone would even phase him but combined they became more than the sum of their parts, and they threatened to do serious damage to the Saiyan.

"I've only begun" Goku shouted

With a war cry , Goku powered up into his Super Saiyan form in a flash. And I knew that with his increased power, the actual damage to his body had been minimized and to make things worse he sent me flying to the ground with a spinning kick.

Then as Goku lowered himself back to the ground he returned to his normal form. I also let go of my highly focused rage.

"I did it," I said proudly. "I finally managed to make you transform into a Super Saiyan!"

It had taken eight months but I'd done it. Goku had willingly transformed in order to beat me. Granted his super form put him well beyond me, but still it was an achievement.

"Yeah," grinned Goku "you did great".

Sure I wanted to vomit and die at this point, but good for me I'd gotten really had gotten somewhere.

"Well Gothic we've finally reached the end" said Goku enthusiastically. "There's nothing more I can teach you".

That was very surprising to hear. We still had four months left before even a day had gone by outside this fucked up place of madness.

"But I couldn't even touch you in your Super Saiyan form!" I protested.

Although to be fair I'd barely done any damage when he was in his normal state.

"Power isn't everything" remarked Goku.

Well that was true, but there had to be more techniques he could teach me that teleporting trick was very cool.

"You've shown something that is very important to a fighter, which is creativity and control. The winner of a battle isn't always the person who can use most powerful techniques. What's matter most is that the warrior has the control necessary and the creativity to do something that is completely unexpected".

Besides we were running low on those magic beans and I did want to take a few back with me. My group lacked a white mage as while Raven could do a little healing, we didn't have anyone who specialised in that role. But if I could grow magic healing beans then it would be a big help.

"Like how you caught me with that Solar Flare" Goku was now saying "If an enemy doesn't know what you'll throw at him then you can surprise him, and that way you can beat a stronger opponent".

Unless of course they are called Son Goku. Why anyone willing fought him was beyond me.

"But even when I did catch you with a surprise, you just became so much more powerful than me" I pointed out "There are people were I live that are so much stronger than me, but you make it sound like it doesn't matter".

Although I did he had a point. I'd actually been the one to defeat Mongul at the Fortress of Solitude and I'd done that by doing something unexpected. And I was good at being surprising.

"I'm not saying strength and power aren't _important_" Goku said to me "But... it's hard to explain".

The alien took a few moments to carefully phrase what he wanted to say.

"There are just some things you have to learn on your own. You've come as far as you can training with me. The rest is now up to you".

I did understand what he was trying to say. Goku had spent hours going over his battles, and from what I'd gathered he'd become the fighter he was now by taking on more powerful enemies, the training he'd endured had only prepared him. If I wanted to advance any further I would have to do the same, and find like him I would also need to find more teachers, and there were people in the DC universe who could help me.

That and I imagined he wanted to go home. I really did too and I didn't have a child waiting for me.

"I think I understand. Thank you Goku, for all you have done for me" I said with bow

My teacher returned the bow and then said.

"Keep the outfit, it's looks good on you".

Well it was all black and the weight didn't seem to even register now. With a few enchantments I might even use them for a new persona I had planned. I'd just need some way to disguise my face.

"Ready to go home?" Goku then asked.

There was no more to say, it was time to go. Hopefully Raven was waiting for me because I had no way out of this dimension and I had no desire to stay here as it was even crazier here than it was back home.

Plus I was going to Hawaii!


	37. Chapter 37

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Grass Skirts And Coconut Bras**

**Private Beach - Hawaii – April 2003**

"Welcome to Hawaii!" I shouted with a grin, as everyone stepped through the portal Raven had created "Please enjoy the my holiday home and the private beach".

The house was what you'd expect for beach-front property owned by the wealthy. It wasn't that big but since the sea and sand were only meters away from the front door it was well worth cramming so many inside. Besides as long as there wasn't any freak weather everyone would be spending most of their time outside, and since the skies were blue, the wind was cool, and the sun was shinning I was so not going to lock myself indoors. I'd had enough of being cooped up.

"It is so beautiful" Blackfire said with a happy smile on her face, as she checked out the palm trees and white sandy beach "and because no one is around I don't have to hide behind a hologram".

When I'd suggested to Ray that Blackfire disguise herself I hadn't at that point known that I owned a beach house on one of the islands of Hawaii and the land around it. Since there wouldn't be normal people around there was no reason for everyone not to be themselves.

"And it's all ours for two whole days" Raven remarked.

She didn't sound as happy as she should be.

"Well it's ours whenever we want it" I corrected "but yeah everyone enjoy the weekend".

The next forty-eight hours were going to be so fun.

"I call the biggest room!" Beast Boy said, pushing past everyone else.

Out of the corner of my I saw Terra roll her eyes and yank Beast Boy backward, like he was overexcited toddler.

"Hey! What was that for?" Beast Boy asked of his girlfriend.

Personally I didn't know why she needed a reason.

"I've already decided who goes in what room" I said, while unlocking the front doors "and I'm getting the master bedroom".

Beast Boy groaned but followed everyone into the house nonetheless.

What greeted us inside was a luxurious sight that could rival even the finest of hotels. The walls that faced the ocean were made of glass and were perfectly clear so nothing got in the way of the view. A huge skylight seemed to make up the most of the roof and it let in enough sunlight that I kept my sunglasses on.

A plasma screen T.V hung on the wall along with various modern paintings, that did not appeal to my sense of taste. Also there was a huge dark wooden coffee table with magazines the girls would enjoy along with video games for the guys and a selection of DVDs.

I knew that Galatea had scouted the place out a few days in order to make it habitable and she had clearly gone to some effort to make sure that we would have everything we needed.

The kitchen was elegant and also very modern looking, with a massive stainless steel refrigerator. Even in here sunlight filled the room and enough food to feed an army was laid out on the counters.

"SWEET!" Beast Boy shouted, jumping onto the couch. He had the T.V on before anyone else even made it half way into living area.

"Not so fast BB, we still gotta check out our rooms" Cyborg said, lugging in his and Bumblebee's luggage.

Beast Boy immediately jumped off the couch and managed to fall over which made Terra roll her eyes again. Dude really was a overgrown

child sometimes, but on some level she had to find it adorable otherwise one night she would have suffocated him with pillow while he slept.

The bedrooms were at the back of the house and it was darker here and the roof was not transparent.

"Alright. Stargirl and Ace your on the couch as it folds out" I told the only two single people.

They moaned, but it was just easier to put couples into the bedrooms, not that I was in a couple I had a sort of complex four way thing going, and Jinx apparently wasn't coming as she was now playing for the other team. The bad guy team, not lesbian one. But on the plus side that did mean there wouldn't three people sharing one sofa bed.

"Borg and Bee your room is right there, Terra and Beastie Boy your room is across from theirs" I was now saying "assuming I remember the floor plan correctly".

I'd never been here before but the accountant who handled all my money and investments had faxed me enough information for me to learn the layout of the place.

"Aren't you excited Ray?" I inquired when it was just me and my girls.

"I suppose." Raven deadpanned as we walked down the corridor to the master bedroom.

"What? You're not excited at all? We're in _Hawaii _Rae!" Blackfire said, as stopped in front of our room " I saw a documentary before we left and it looks even more amazing than it did on TV".

Well that explained why she'd wanted to come here.

"And we live in California. Which is by the water too." Raven replied.

Well yes, but that wasn't the point and it didn't have anything to do with why she wasn't bursting with joy.

"Whatever Raven, just remember to have fun" Blackfire said with a sigh.

I could sense an argument coming, but after being away for a whole year a perverse part of me had missed them so I did nothing to prevent it.

"The word 'fun' isn't in my dictionary." Raven said in the monotonous voice she famous for.

I knew it was and next to that word was a picture of her tied to the bed with a riding crop whacking her ass.

"Please try to enjoy yourself" I requested of my magic using lover.

As we entered the big bedroom the scene before us was a beautiful one. The ceiling was painted to look like a starry night and walls were a shade of purple that was normally only seen just after a sunset.

A glass wall faced the ocean view with a balcony and if I had judged things right the sunset should actually be visible form this room as well as the living area. The whole thing would no doubt be very romantic.

As for what we'd all be sleeping on a large, round fluffy bed was in the centre of the room. It was heart shaped but since the bedding wasn't red it didn't seem to obvious, and to my everlasting gratitude there was no big mirror above the bed. The room already looked to much like a honeymoon suite in my view.

When I saw a small smile appear on Raven's face, and I knew that unlike Blackfire and Power Girl, she had noticed that this room was rather suited for a honeymoon. No doubt she planned to use this fact to somehow make me uncomfortable. Not that she'd have much luck after all I wasn't the same person that I had been eight months ago.

Blackfire dropped her luggage, which was a lot considering that she could fly home quickly enough for anything she needed, and collapsed on the bed, no doubt enjoying it's feathery goodness. Before she could fully relax, however, there was a knock on her door.

"What do you want?" Raven said to Beast Boy, who was peering into our bedroom

"Hey, you've got an awesome room!" the shape shifter needlessly informed us "Wanna see mine we've got a water bed? Terra's hates it but I like it!".

If Slade had ever stayed in this place then I would eat my hat. Of course I'd have to buy a hat first since I didn't own one. But that would not be necessary as I knew he'd just brought furnished places as hideouts, and hadn't given a damn what how they were decorated.

However he might have done something with the basement. There was nothing in the plans, but that didn't mean anything.

"I'll pass on the invitation. We'll be downstairs in a second." Raven replied, before slamming the door in Beast Boy's face".

"The emo side is strong with this one" I muttered under my breathe.

It was then I decided that I would have to nip her bad attitude in the bud before her mood ruined everyone's weekend.

"Fire, 'Tea give me a moment alone with Ray" I ordered

My other two girls did exactly that and I was impressed by how easily I could get them to do things. Either I had a lot of control over them or they had sensed what was about to happen and had wisely decided to get out of the line of fire.

"I don't know what's got your panties in a bunch" I said to Raven when the door closed "and frankly I don't care. I've just spent the better part of a year in a place that made no sense, with a guy that makes me look like the poster boy for sanity".

When put that way it sounded bad, but truth be told I'd forever be grateful for Goku for taking so much time out his own life to train me, and since I could live for thousands of years that was really saying something.

"All want to have fun before I go back to Jump City and deal with Red-X and your not going to ruin that for me. Is that understood?"

Ray just nodded, and she might have said something but I wasn't finished just yet.

"I'm not saying that I don't care if your upset" I told Raven, without raising my voice "but it's not fair to ruin everyone else's good time, so whatever it is making you all emo I'm telling you to put it aside until we get home. When we do I will be happy to listen to whatever have to say and I'll do my best to help. Is that okay with you?".

She didn't take long to answer.

"Yes" she said.

It took me a moment to process the fact that I'd actually been able to say all that without her getting all pissed off at me. I had really grown during my time away.

"You are going to join everyone else for the barbecue" I went on to say, still in a perfectly calm voice and you will do your best to be pleasant. You told me you miss your friends and some of them are here so make the most of it".

Again she answered right away.

"Okay"

By now she was looking at her own feet like she was a chided child.

"Good" I said "Now go change into that sexy bikini I know you brought for this trip".

As she rushed to as she was told I promised myself that one day I'd figure out exactly why I kept ending up with women who seemed to gain some enjoyment from being ordered around by a man like. I assumed it had something to do with unresolved issues with their fathers. Then I realised that I knew about Blackfire's father, other than he dead, hopefully he'd never tried to kill her.

"I'd better change to".

My kung fu outfit was actually rather comfy despite being weighted but it wasn't something I wanted to relax on beach in.

(Line Break)

**Private Beach - Hawaii – April 2003**

After a year of living a lifestyle that could only really be approved of by a Buddhist, it was nice to drink a beer and to cook meat while surrounded by super powered babes in bikinis. This was exactly how men like me were meant to live.

"I think Ray opened a portal to heaven by mistake" I said to Cy and BB as we watched the girls play a game of volleyball.

Well nearly all of them. Raven was in the kitchen, hopefully not preparing food in any way that involved heat as she had once cremated an entire box of pop tarts and somehow set a bowl of cereal on fire.

"Oh yeah" agreed Borg, who was intently watching his girlfriend jump and down a lot "no one live can be this lucky".

The little green dude was no so happy.

"Urggh" expressed Beast Boy "how can you eat so much meat".

I hadn't actually eaten any of the dead animal parts yet, as they were still cooking.

"If it's any consolation I've been a strict vegan for the last eight months" I told BB.

It hadn't been by choice it was just that the food supplies in the Time Chamber had been rather limited. There was only so much you could do with rice and noddles.

"Eight months!" said a shocked Cyborg before he realised something "Hold on a second I know I saw you eating meat up in the Watchtower before you went on that mission to set magic right. That wasn't eight months ago".

I remembered that meal well. I'd had lemon chicken as a side dish with my pasta. Why I recalled it so vividly was rather mysterious, but I guessed it had something to do with it being the last meal before I'd died. Cyborg most likely remembered because he had his memories on a hard drive.

"The place I went to train in had a chamber were time flowed faster" I explained "a year inside is a day on the outside. I was inside for eight months and I lived on vegan food. So for this weekend I am spoiling myself with bad food and beer. I earned it".

Even with the limited menu options the whole thing had been worth it. My control over my demonic powers was really impressive now. I'd gotten the barbecue going with a click of my fingers. No lighter fluid needed.

"Yeah but it stinks" Beastie Boy complained.

It was amazing how little he was bothering me. I hadn't achieved a state of inner peace or gotten anywhere near enlightenment, but if nothing else spending all that time cut off from distractions had given me a chance to get some perspective and to work through my feelings. I wasn't getting worked up over the little things any more.

"Tell you what" I said to the green dude "When I stay at your fancy holiday home and get to enjoy your private beach, then I promise not to eat any meat".

Hearing that made Cyborg burst out laughing. However BB was not so amused and he had a question.

"How do you afford this place?" he asked.

My answer was a simple one.

"By being a millionaire?"

As I flipped the ridiculously think and juicy burgers I could tell that a more detailed was needed.

"I was Slade's last apprentice so when he 'died' I got everything that was his" I told the lads "He was the world's best assassin for many years and he made quite the fortune, and he spent his wealth on places like this so he would have lots of hidey holes like this for when he needed to disappear for while".

If I'd ever tried to hunt Deathstroke I never would have looked for him in a location such as this. It was rather clever and more common than I'd imagined. Talia had confessed to me while we'd been in Aspen that her father than a flat in Jump City that he kept just so he could have someone keep an eye on me. Which upon thinking about it was actually a way for me to get to the Demon's Head. I'd have to visit the apartment when I got back to the city.

"And because they are all mine I know have apartments and houses all over the world" I finished saying.

Cy was impressed, but BB was still annoyed with me.

"That blows" he complained "I have to live in the Watchtower in a tiny room and it's cold up in space!".

I doubted Terra enjoyed it much either so I decided to fix that.

"If you want a house just let me know" I said "I've got a list pf them somewhere you can just pick one and move in".

Transferring the deed of ownership was no trouble as I had people to handle that sort of stuff for me.

"Really?" he asked "You're going to give me a house!"

To him it was a big deal, but to me empty homes were just a waste of resources. Much better to put them to use.

"Can I..." Cyborg started to say.

I cut him of as he was having trouble asking for a handout.

"You helped put Slade down so there's no reason for me not to share the spoils of war".

I might have been able to phrase that better, but since he was getting a free home he didn't fret over it.

"So Slade's money is what you're gonna use to set up your business and make the games consoles " Cy was saying as the girls made their way back over to the house.

"Not exactly" I replied "I got to you back engineer that Xbox1 and then patent a downgraded version because I'm going to milk this technology for all it's worth".

I'd asked Cyborg to come up with a downgraded version of the Xbox1 (something to close to the 360) so that I could bring out two games systems rather than just one.

"You see I'm going to have another company produce and sell them but I'll still get a percentage of the profits. Then in a year we can show them the better version".

While I had the money to buy everything needed to set up my own company, it would take time and I had no guarantee that product would ever reach the shelves because the more established companies could find ways to drive me out of business. However if I let Mircosoft, which had already brought out a version of the Xbox , pay me to sell Cyborgs version of the Xbox1 then they'd end up dominating the industry as they would outsell the latest Gamestation (which was what Playstations were called here) and possibly even drive Sony out of that market.

"Then I'll use the money to develop that hand held game system I picked up. After your done taking it a part and reconfiguring it of course. It's so far ahead of what we have here that we will make a fortune".

Cyborg made a thoughtful face as the girls just started at us.

"Does anyone have a clue what they are talking about?" Stargirl asked of the other females.

None of them did.

"We can sell the wireless controllers separately" Cy suggested 'And we could even make our games. You brought some games so I figure out the software easy".

I'd not considered selling the wireless controllers as well. If we did that then we could even offer the tech to Sony and then see if Mircosoft would try to outbid them.

"No more shop talk" Bumblebee insisted "I'd like to eat".

The food was done and as I started to serve Ray made an appearance with a large bowl of what I hoped was only salad. Even she couldn't mess that up, not unless she made the dressing herself.

As well sat down to eat we discussed what we were going to do tonight.

"How about we check out the luau" Blackfire suggested to the group "I learned about them thanks to the documentary I watched, they look like a lot of fun".

The idea was met with approval by the majority.

"Is a luau that dance the girls do with the grass skirts" Beast Boy asked.

I could tell that his girlfriend was not happy about where his trail of thought was going so I decided to say something.

"That's called the hula" I told him "it's a traditional dance and yeah there are ladies here who perform it during a luau which as is a sort of party. The interesting thing about the hula is that some version of the dance are actually a form of worship. They were done to praise god and goddess".

As I bit into the burger I'd cooked I just had to say.

"This is a burger worthy of the gods".

I was so glad I could cook.

That was when Galatea made a face and said.

"People are so silly. Worshipping made up things. I bet Krypton never had any gods.

I had to correct her there.

"Actually you do have a god, he's called Rao, and they aren't made up" I told her "I've met Hades and he's the Greek god of the Underworld He brought me back from the dead so I'd say he's a god".

It hadn't been a one time thing either he'd done for the same for Shayera

"I work for a goddess" Raven added between bites of food "and I've met a few others".

Karen thought about it for a second before asking me something.

"But how do you know their really gods and not just really people who have powers like me?" was Galatea's next question "I mean you said I'm like a goddess and I know you said that to Kara too so maybe this Hades guy is really an alien with super powers".

Well both she and her mother certainly had the means of backing up that claim and like her mother Karen's body was nothing less then divine. But it wasn't as simple as that.

"It depends" I said "Some people think that the creator of the universe is the only god. But others faiths think differently. The idea that a god is an all powerful all knowing being is mostly a western philosophy".

I could tell that this subject wasn't one most of the table wanted to discuss

"To make it simple anyone who is immortal, has supernatural powers, and has worshippers can be thought of as god" I said to the very big breasted blonde.

Which Galatea actually needed to know as gods could kill her.

"So if you had worshippers you'd be a god" Karen reasoned.

That made me laugh.

"No I..." I started to say.

Well I was immortal and I had supernatural powers.

"I don't have worshippers and I'm not exactly hard to hurt so no one would take me seriously as god" I pointed out.

Although it did appeal to my megalomaniac side, however I couldn't really be the god of anything.

"She's not that wrong" Ray then said "You could become a god if you wanted to. I could too, it's not as hard as people think. I just don't want to".

Well she was already a demi-goddess. Trigon had been worshipped in the past according to some sources and he'd been around for a very long time. He wasn't even dead in the strictest sense and he was called a Hell-god in a few texts I'd read about demons.

Heck since I was his heir I could be considered to be a demi-god myself. I might not have that level of power, but I was immortal and I had a lot of magic to call upon.

"Don't worry I don't want to be one of either" I said to Raven "from what I know the gods we have aren't worth the trouble".

Shayera had once told me over coffee how her people had killed all their gods so people didn't actually need them.

"So are we gonna go see the sexy dancing" Blackfire asked.

"Yes" I replied as I started on my second burger "we shall go and enjoy the local culture".

And by that I meant try to find out if the women doing to dance wore anything under the grass skirts. I was really curious about that.


	38. Chapter 38

**Joe Lawyer **

People might wonder how he got the finished product without years of R&amp;D so he's not going to just put the finished product straight onto the shelves. But by having Cyborg claim to the be the inventor people won't question it because he's a genius and has already invented stuff.

I already stated that social networking exists in this DC universe so it's to late to invest in it. But there are others things he can do make his fortune grow. Once his company has enough money he can start up new projects and use the profits to fund his operations.

Yeah his girls are going to need some snuggle time before they cheer up.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Grass Skirts And Coconut Bras. Part 2.**

**Hawaii – April 2003**

It always amazed me how often I could get away with wearing all black. Even when I was surrounded by guys in Hawaiian shirts and girls wearing bits of dead plants, and little more, no one commented on the fact that I had on my boots, my black jeans, and a black t-shirt. I'd forgone the coat due the heat, but still I should really looked out of place, but I somehow didn't. At some point I had mastered the art of not standing out in a crowd.

"I feel like such a girl" Ray complained, as one of the locals put a lot colourful flowers around her neck.

Given that Raven was wearing a white skirt and a blue flowery tank top, complete with sandals, I thought she already looked like a girl so why the flower leis bothered her I hadn't a clue.

"Come on babes, it's traditional" I said encouraging her "it's a gesture of affection to get one of those and it's very rude to refuse".

Well they handed them out at the airport, but we'd portalled in.

"Don't call me babes" Raven replied "I don't like it".

In her hair, she had dozens of tiny flowers, which Blackfire had somehow convinced Raven to wear, so this was not about the extra decoration.

"What would you prefer?" I asked "Honeybunny, cupcake, sexy butt?"

All were fine choices.

"How about Raven" she said to me "I can put up with you calling me Ray, but don't give me any more nicknames".

I smiled at this point I could so wind her up right now, and I fully intended to as she ruining the mood. She had to be punished.

"How about I call you _Metrion?" I suggested "It's a bit formal, but if it's makes you happy"._

_Raven was not going to put up with me using her real name any more than I would. _

_"I want to be your Snuggle Bunny" Ray then declared._

_Apparently it was possible for me to go Heaven because there was no way the real Raven would ask that. Clearly his was an after life of some sort, it would it explain why the Hula girls were topless. _

_"Snuggle Bunny" I said, while trying to sound neutral "that's what you want to be called"._

Raven gave me a look that made me think that I might be on verge of breaking her heart if I said the wrong thing, but I knew it was an act. She wanted to wind me up.

"You like to snuggle with me, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes" I answered very quickly "it is a delight to snuggle with you".

Seemed like a good answer to me and this was proven when Raven stepped in front of me while facing away, and put my arms around her waist. Her mood had shifted so quickly I felt a little dizzy.

"Aren't the flowers so beautiful?" Blackfire said with giggle, placing more flowers into her own hair.

Something was up with her. I'd have to find out what it was. She wasn't horny any more and when I'd last seen her that state of being had pretty much been her entire existence.

"And what are you going to call me?" the alien princess then asked.

I had to wonder if they'd both somehow gotten drunk, or maybe they were finally de-stressing.

"Oh you're a princess" I told "You're my princess".

"Awww" was her reply "that's sweet"

Yep there was something off with Blackfire, she didn't normally approve of me acting mushy.

"I'll take baby girl" said Karen from behind me.

Well that had been predictable

"So no one wants snickerdoodle or pookie?" I asked.

That got a round of negatives.

"No imagination" I grumbled in a joking way.

Since I had three girlfriends who were happy to take their clothes upon command, topless dancing girls didn't told my attention, even though it was very tasteful topless dance, and I spent my time looking at my girlfriends who were sort of a harem.

Blackfire was wearing a flowing pink dress, with white floral decorations on it with white sandals. Which very different from what she normally wore and since she had her holoring on she looked more human than normal but to me it made little different.

Galatea still had her bikini on, and she was using some a blanket made of a light and mostly transparent material as a skirt. She didn't get cold like other people and had little modesty when around other people, and none at all when at home. Not that is was ever a bad thing in my view as long as certain things were only show in private.

By now the moon had long since replaced the sun in the sky, but it was still rather warm out and the party had only just started. We could be here for hours I realised.

"I'm gonna get some food." Beast Boy said as he walked past "any of you guys wanna join me?"

Given that he hadn't had much to eat at dinner I didn't blame him for wanting to pig out. They did have a lot of fruit here and it looked very fresh and tasty.

"I'll go with you." Raven said, rather surprisingly.

As she did Blackfire took her place without delay only she put my hands on her stomach and then asked me something.

"If I told you something important would you freak out and make a big scene?" she questioned of me.

Now I knew something was up with her. She liked to speak her mind, she didn't beat around the bush.

"I achieved a measure of inner peace" was my answer.

In the sense that I could control my rage, and that I didn't let the little things bother me any more. So she have to say something really overwhelming to make me react badly in public.

(Line Break)

**Hawaii – April 2003**

Raven and Beast Boy (who was also passing for a normal human thanks to a holoring) headed to a table, where tons of food was laid out.

"So...enjoying yourself?" Beast Boy said, placing food on his plate.

"It doesn't suck" Raven said, a friendly smile playing at her lips.

"Are you gonna dance?" Beast Boy said, as Raven filled her plate.

Some of the younger women, who were also on vacation were giving it ago, the results were a mixed success.

"Bugger that" Raven said

That got her an odd look from other former Teen Titan and Ray spent a moment wondering if that whole body swap incident had some infected her with some Britishness.

"It'll be fun! And you get to wear those cool grass skirts!" Beast Boy replied "Blackfire's gonna try later on".

"All the more reason not to." said Raven.

As she took a seat at a table. She then noticed that Terra was absent and assumed that the blonde was giving her boyfriend a chance to reconnect with his old team.

"I can't wait for tomorrow." Beast Boy said, grinning like an idiot.

"Why?" Raven asked.

"Cuz we're going to a volcano!" he said excitedly "by helicopter!".

Considering that they could both fly if they wanted to the attraction of riding in a copter was lost on the purple haired woman.

"You and Cyborg are going" Raven stated rather than asked.

It did sound like a boy's things.

"Everyone's going" Beast Boy corrected.

"Oh really? And who decided this?" Raven asked

The answer surprised her.

"Democracy" said BB

So she'd been dragged into this by people voting.

"A Volcano could be interesting." Raven decided

"FUCKING HELL!"

Raven jumped a little in her seat and then realised that Blackfire had finally gotten around to mentioning the whole pregnancy thing.

**Private Beach – Hawaii – April 2003**

I'd taken my socks and shoes off so I could stand on the beach and let the waves tickle my feet, however I was trying to ignore the sensation and focus on mental exercise that allowed me to sense people's power levels.

Right now I could sense a strong person heading my way, in fact she was right behind me.

"Hey, princess" I greeted as Blacidire landed behind me.

Sensing her wasn't hard she took energy from the sun and the sun had it's own ki, which meant that if her power was ever expressed in visible light she'd glow. Galatea's energy was like that only many times more intense. If her power could be seen she'd blind people on sight. I could also sense Raven as she had quite a lot of energy running through her body, but her power was magical so it felt different.

"There you are" Fire said as she moved to stand next to me "I was worried you might run away again".

To be fair I had done that once, but that wasn't my style these days it was just that for her it hadn't been that long ago.

"Nah, no worries" I assured my pregnant girlfriend "I just needed to calm down a little".

My training under Goku hadn't prepared for the shock of becoming a father, and the fact that the baby was going to be heir to Starfire's throne had made things a thousand times more complicated.

"I'm sorry but the heir to the throne has to be born in wedlock" Blackfire told me as she moved in front of me "That's just how it works".

That was the other big issue.

"I don't want kids" I said "they cause trouble".

Arella hadn't even born yet, and wouldn't be for decades, but she was already messing my life up. Which was an achievement really.

"But you knew I was in heat" Blackfire said while giving me one of the looks all men dread seeing on a woman's face "You had to know why".

I did indeed know why certain animals went into heat. But I hadn't expected this to led to her getting pregnant. Just being horny and fertile didn't change the fact she was a different species.

"Well yeah" I replied "but you didn't say you were trying to get pregnant".

In fact she hadn't warned me at all, however that was not her fault as she might have if I'd been around for her to talk to before she built herself a cocoon and taken a long nap for a few weeks.

"I didn't think it needed saying" Blackfire said to me "It's kinda obvious that I picked you to mate with".

At this point I was starting to wonder how many fit alien babes would want to make little hybrids with me in my possibly very long life time. Kara had wanted to have by babies despite how unlikely it was I could get her pregnant. We could have planned to adopt but she had wanted to breed, and in a thousand years she still would. When she found out Blackfire had gotten a baby first then I just knew I'd be blamed.

"You won't get so lucky next year" the alien princess then added "I won't go into heat again for a long time. But we can still have a very sexy honeymoon. That I'll be nice".

There was a slight problem with all this.

"No we won't" I informed her "I mean I can't. I have an arranged marriage already".

One was one to many in my view and crossing Ra's al Ghul could be very dangerous, not just for me but for the people I cared about.

"Oh that doesn't matter" Blackfire said "Our marriage wouldn't be recognised on Earth. And it's not like you'd have to raise the little brat. The kid will just go into hiding like Wildfire".

That did not soothe me. In fact it worried me more. Wildfire was a nice kid but the prince had issues.

"There will be no wedding" I firmly stated "and no child of mine is going to be hidden away".

This turned out to be the wrong thing to say.

"So you're breaking up with me!" a panicked Blackfire said "but you can't I'm pregnant. We have to get married".

Somehow I'd stopped myself from going crazy but Fire had no such luck. She got onto her knees and started crying not caring that she was getting soaked by the sea water. I picked out a few words she managed to say and one of them was war.

"War?" I asked "What war?".

Blackfire managed to calm down a little so she could explain. This took a while as she kept having to blow her nose on the skirt she was wearing. It was not an attractive sight.

"I'm pregnant with the heir to the throne".

Well naturally there would be a line of succession, like in royal families on Earth, but from what I understood things weren't as simple for Blackfire's people as they were for mine. Unlike back home the heir didn't have to be the eldest child of the current monarch, it could be a younger sibling if the queen or king had no children of their own. On Tamaran things were even complex as the heir was chosen by the current ruler and it could be any member of their family, including nieces and nephews. It didn't have the oldest sibling or eldest child.

Wildfire didn't want to be the heir, I knew that, and Blackfire couldn't be Grand Ruler which left Starfire without a successor. That was never a good thing for a monarch. Star might be able to force her little brother to play the role, but once he had a niece or a nephew she'd have no reason to make him do that and he would kick up a fuss and maybe even reject the role entirely leaving Starfire with no heir at all. So if Blackfire and I went back to Earth with our child that could led to war because we'd have the only remaining heir or heiress on the wrong planet. It might even happen if I refused to get married as the baby couldn't be heir to the throne if she or he was born out of wedlock.

"I can't believe your sister would start a war" I said to Blackfire "I mean I really, really can't imagine her doing something like that".

The strange thing was that the last time I'd seen here Starfire hadn't mentioned that this might happen. However she had know about Ace making Blackfire attracted to me, so she must have known this could happen. Yet she hadn't warned me.

"She wouldn't" Blackfire agreed "but that doesn't mean she can't be pressured into it by her supporters, and she can't refuse the throne again so she needs an heir".

I'd forgotten that Starfire had once done that. She'd given the throne to someone and he'd been the regent for a while. However he was dead now and maybe she didn't trust anyone else to rule her people. Also with a strong monarchy with a clear line succession then there could even be civil war..

"I should have used a condom" I moaned.

Doing so would have prevented a lot of problems, or I could have just stayed single after Kara left. That might have been for the best.

"I wouldn't have let you" Blackfire then said "I was in heat, and the pheromones are really hard to resist".

That was ironic. I'd spent a lot of time worrying about messing with people's head using pheromones and I'd never considered that it would be me getting influenced by them.

"I really wish we'd left Earth" Blackfire then lamented "We could have gotten away from all this".

__Think about it, there are thousands of worlds out there. Places that have never heard of Earth or of Tamaran. No one would know who we are___._

_I replayed those words a few times in my head. Blackfire had tempted me into leaving the planet and I'd not realised why she had wanted to leave so badly. Now I understood, she'd known this would happen sooner or later and had wanted to escape but also she didn't want to leave me so she'd tried to get me to leave Earth. Although her idea of becoming bounty hunters wouldn't have worked out once the fact she was pregnant had become known to me. _

_"Suddenly Red-X doesn't seem so important" I muttered. _

_Of course my reasons for not leaving the mud ball I called home were still valid, but now things were out of my hands. _

_"Okay so we get married" I said, giving in "and we live on Tamaran"._

_Well there could be worse places to live. _

_"Oh you don't have to stay" Blackfire told me as she decided that we were better off lying on the bed "I don't plan on hanging around after I push the kid out. Starfire can handle the rest"._

_That didn't sit well with me, but again I didn't see what choice I had. Anything I did to stop Starfire from having the heir she wanted would led to badness. Even if we ran away now people would come after us, and none of them scared me more than Raven. No doubt my other lovers would be a bit tiffed at me if I did run away. _

_Plus Galatea would be more than a wee bit annoyed too as I'd promised her that she and I could start doing the 'dance with no pants' once Blackfire stopped being in heat._

_"So there's no way out of this" I realised._

_I had to get married and give up the kid. It was the only thing I could do. _

_"Sorry, handsome, you can't escape your doom" said Blackfire "and you still marry Raven so it might all work out"._

_I could see this causing more problems, but I could only handle on issue at a time. When I got home I would have to make a list and that meant dealing with a few people. _

_"We can worry about when he get home" I told my girlfriend "until then your still under orders to have fun"._

_Unless she was going to give birth in a matter of days this really was something we had to deal with now. _

_"Yah know I'm not in heat any more" my princess was now saying "but that doesn't mean I don't still want sex and if you want me to have fun then I'm gonna need your help"._

_Subtly thy name was not Blackfire._

_"We could find some quiet" she then suggested. _

_Well it had been a while since she and I had done the nasty. Months in fact and it wasn't as if it make things worse._

_"I'll go get a blanket" I said._

_I'd brought one in case something like this happened. _

_"And were on your private beach so I'll just naked" the princess said "I got all wet, and not in the way you like. Met me by those palm trees"._

_Now that sounded like a plan. _


	39. Chapter 39

**Author Note**

This chapter is dedicated to DarkAvenger001 who made a suggestion for the story that led to a bonus chapter. I was going to have Gothic come up with the solution this current problem, but having someone else do it allowed me to have a special guest star.

On another note I had some time off this week so I wrote four chapters for the next pokegirl story. So I might post them soon.

**Reviews**

**Joe Lawyer**

They already knew and there was nothing to discuss as there really isn't a way out without causing a lot of trouble. That's why Raven was so moody even though she wanted to go on holiday with her friends. Besides a special guest star is going to help solve that problem.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Grass Skirts And Coconut Bras. Part 3.**

**Resort Bar - Hawaii – April 2003**

_'Come on baby don't fear the Reaper'_

At this point I was now singing. Which didn't bother anyone as I could sing rather well, but it was a sure sign that I'd entered the depressed stage of a night's drinking.

_'Baby take my hand'_

"By a girl a drink?" a voice said interrupting my singing.

It was two in the morning, but that didn't seem to mean much on this island, the bar was still doing business and since I was on vacation I'd decided to get well and truly drunk. The plan had been to do the whole heavy drinking thing by myself, but by the sounds of things that wasn't going to be the case.

"Two more of whatever these are" I ordered off the bartender "and put them on my tab".

They were fruity concoctions with little straws and umbrellas, and I loved them as strong citrus flavour really complemented the rum. Also they were expensive but I enough pocket change to cover buying a hundred or so.

"Thanks" said the girl as she sat down next to me.

I quickly looked her over and was surprised to see that she was a hot goth chick, not at all an emo, as she could smile, and very sexy. Also for someone in Hawaii she was very pale. But what really caught my eye was the silver pendant around her neck, it was an ankh, the Egyptian symbol for eternal life if I remembered correctly.

"What's your name?" I asked.

I guessed that it would be something dark sounding.

"Just call me Dee" the sexy goth girl replied

Well I'd not expected to her to have a name like that.

"I'm Gothic" I told her.

"Yeah I know" she said before taking a sip of the fruity drink.

If anyone asked me I'd have to admit to them that I was damn curious now. This was not a normal girl. That she knew my name didn't tell me much as lots of people did, but she didn't seem to care that I was somewhat famous. I had to find out more.

"So what brings you to this little slice of paradise?" I inquired.

I wasn't feeling that sociable, but there was no need to be rude, bedsides there was something about this woman that peeked my interest. It was nothing I could put my finger on but she a vibe about her that told me she was something special. That might have something to do with the Eye of Horus tattoo on her face. It was a powerful magical symbol and given what

"It's my day off" was her simple answer.

She didn't look like just another tourist and this seemed like a long way to come for a day off. However couldn't be local as she was way to pale to live somewhere as sunny as this.

"You're only here for a day" I replied "that's not much of a holiday".

The life of a totally stranger would normally be of no concern to me but she seemed a little sad about something and I wanted to figure out who she was. To help myself do this I used my ability to sense power levels and I went from curious to nervous as hell.

This goth chick had a power level that utterly dwarfed any that I'd felt before. Compared to this woman I was a bug, even Galatea wasn't worth a fraction of his Dee person.

However I did my best to hide my reaction, and this involved a lot more drinking. Which really helped with the whole staying calm thing. I didn't want to piss off this woman off if I could help it and few ladies enjoy when men run away in fear from them.

"I only get one day off a century" Dee was now saying "I like to spend it with people".

At this point I really hoped that she didn't expect to come on to her. I had enough scary females in my life as it was. However another part of me still wanted to know more about her.

"Sounds lonely" I commented.

"Immortality blows" Dee said.

Amen to that.

"Tell me about it" was my reply.

Had anyone else sat down at the bar and told me they were immortal I'd would not have believed it, but given this woman's power level she could well be a goddess.

"For starters it's murder on my love life" Dee said, apparently taking my words literally "I can't involved with anyone mortal because bad stuff always happens to them, and even if that wasn't a problem they'd die of old age before I got my next day off. How are you suppose to have a boyfriend if you have to watch him go old and die in no time at all?".

I thought fast for an answer that might appease her.

"Hook up with a god" I suggested.

This was not a solution judging by the scowl on her face.

"They're a bunch and jerks, and most of them are afraid of me" Dee told me "I'm a career woman. I think they feel threatened".

That sort of thing didn't bother me, if only because I had bigger concerns and since I couldn't help her I decided to talk about me a little. That was what you were suppose to do when you met someone.

"I'm involved with a girl who serves Cosmic Balance so I know how work can get in the way".

And also get you involved with psychopathic sons of Trigon. I so didn't like Reaper and I didn't doubt for a second that he would come after me at some point. After all I had stolen his magic weapon he would want it back and he couldn't have it as it mine.

"So you're an immortal who likes strong women," Dee stated as she smiled at me "And you're taken. That's just my luck".

I decided not to mention the harem thing. I didn't want to offend her by making it sound like I might want to add her to the group. Besides I didn't think it was an option anyway as I was not as in charge as I might like to think.

"Yeah but I might still be around in hundred years" I pointed out "Maybe I'll be single then".

Given that this woman could smite me with ease it seemed a good idea not to upset her in anyway, or to give her an outright no.

"Raven will still be around" Dee then told me "I know her professional and unless something unexpected happens, I'm not due to met her a couple of hundred years".

Raven was part demon so it made sense that she might have a long life span.

"But in the end I'll reap her too".

Then I took a moment to think over what had just been said. It wasn't hard to figure out who this girl was claiming to be.

"Are you Death?" I asked.

My question was ignored.

"Buy me another drink" Dee requested.

Again it seemed wise to do exactly what this woman told me do. I might be immortal but if Dee was in fact Death then that wouldn't mean a damn thing. Not with her power level I could still feel it. Heck I could almost hear it.

"Sure, whatever you want" I said.

Dee drank like a fish so I ordered two more drinks for her just to be on the safe side.

"I mean I'm just me. I've got a job to do and I do it right" Dee was now saying with a lot of passion in her voice "When the first living showed up, I was there and when the last living thing dies, my job will finally be finished. Then I'll put the chairs on the tables, put out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave".

Okay then yeah she was Death. The DC Verse had a Grim Reaper and she a hot goth chick who looked great in jeans. Well if nothing else it made a nice change from the skeleton with the scythe. Although if he didn't exist then who the hell was Reaper copying?

"Even gods are intimated by that" Dee then said "I mean the last time they will see me I'll be their to take them to the afterlife. Stuff like puts guys off dating me".

I could see how this could be the case for her. I'd tried to romance a normal woman once, that had not ended well and I was still mostly human.

"And it's a rule that any mortal I get involved in is doomed" she added.

I decided to try and offer a suggestion.

"There must be some immortal guy's out there" I said "I know I'm not the only one around".

In fact there were entire books on famous immortals. I'd read such a tome ages ago as I'd thought it might help me prepare for such a long life. It hadn't. At all.

"Then there's the Omniscience" Dee commented "There's no mystery in a romance if you know a guy's past, and his every possible future. Well not yours for some reason. I'm never going to reap you so I guess you must die in another universe or something".

I was going to ask about that but she never gave me a chance.

"And don't get me started on my family" the hot personification of death said to me.

"Okay I won't" was my reply.

Saying that didn't help. She clearly needed to vent her frustrations.

"Dream, that's my little brother, he's okay but Despair and Desire just plain suck. There always playing their stupid games, and because of the rules I'm not allowed to strangle them".

Given that I had siblings I knew exactly what she meant. Even when you love them to bits there are times when I'd wanted to smother them with a pillow as they slept.

"Sorry" Dee was now saying "I'm normally a lot more cheerful than this. I love my life and my job".

"Everyone gets like this sometimes" I replied "I can be a right moody git".

As she got to work on what had to be her fourth drink Dee decided to ask me something.

"So what's got you so down?".

I explained my situation and how I knew it was upsetting Raven. Ray must have known before I did as it explained why she'd been so bitchy despite the fact that coming here with her friends had been exactly what she'd wanted. For once I couldn't even blame her for being an emo as I should really been planning to marry her, but I'd gotten Blackfire pregnant and ruined any chance of that happening.

"Why don't you just propose to Raven" Dee suggested "If your marriage to Blackfire isn't binding here on Earth then it won't matter to them if get hitched on this planet".

That could actually work. The only downside would be that Galatea would never be able to be my wife, but on the other hand I didn't love her. If not for the fact that she was Kara's unwanted and unloved child I'd have nothing to do with her at all. It was harsh to even think that, however it was the truth and I didn't think she wanted to marry me anyway.

"It could work" I said.

Dee was more confident in this plan that I was.

"Of course it will work" she told me "I've been around since the birth of the universe I know how things work out".

Knowing what I had to do I stood up and had to hold onto the bar as right now I could feel the planet spinning on it axis. Also I had some trouble counting cash so I just gave the bartender a few hundred dollars.

"Keep the change" I said.

"Hey" said Dee as I walked/stumbled away "Aren't you even gonna take my number. I know you aren't single, yet, but we could met somewhere for coffee. I'm pretty much everywhere all the time so whenever and wherever you want is good for me".

I took the offered business card and while I was sobering up surprisingly fast I still had a hard time reading. From what I could make out it read:

Death of the Endless

And there was number too.

"What kind of area code is that?" I asked.

It was the longest phone number I'd ever seen.

"You really don't want to know" Dee said "trust me on this".

Perhaps I'd just email her as at least I could read the address.

(Line Break)

**Holiday Home - Hawaii – April 2003**

"Honey I'm home" I said as I wandered into the kitchen of the beach house "or should that be 'Honeys I'm home'".

Raven was not happy to see me, although Blackfire and Power Girl were pleased at my return.

"And what time do you call this?" Ray asked as she stood up and somehow managed to look intimating despite the fact she in a night shirt.

It took a moment, due to booze and being rather sleepy, but I soon remembered how clocks worked.

"Four am" I told her "I was at the bar and I met Death. She's hot".

The alien princess and the lab grown hottie were confused by that statement, but Raven was not.

"Was she wearing a silver necklace with a kinda cross on it?" my annoyed girlfriend asked of me.

Well Dee had said she about Raven so it made sense that Ray might also know about Dee.

"If by that you mean an ankh, then yes. And yes I know what an ankh symbolises. Eternal life".

Raven's mood went from being miffed at me to astonished and didn't think this was because I knew an Egyptian symbol when I saw it.

"You met Death of the Endless!".

I'd wondered about that. I didn't know if the Endless were a group that Dee belonged to or if she was suppose to kill a group called the Endless. Not that it really mattered.

"The personification of Death that only spends one day in a century living like a mortal and you got her number" Raven then said.

I wasn't sure if that had been a question, but I gave her an answer.

"Yeah and I got her phone number. I'm going to take her for coffee, but just as friends" I assured my messed up excuse for a harem "I promise I won't have sex with her".

It might not even be possible if she was only mortal for one day every century.

"Yeah you should do that" Raven said "Be very nice to her, take her for coffee and whatever else she wants. But don't bring her home".

Now I was getting mixed messages. Also I had to sit down because the tiles on the floor were not as even as they'd been earlier. Thankfully the stool I saw one was sturdy.

"It's like you don't want me to have friends" I complained.

Dee seemed lonely to me, she should have an immortal friend. Heck I could do with a buddy like her. It would be nice to know someone I knew would still be around in a few centuries.

"I do" Raven said "it's just that I've read about her. The mortals she gets involved with end up in a lot of trouble. It might not matter to you cause you aren't really mortal, but the rest of us are".

That made sense, also I got the sense that Ray was scared of Dee. She seemed nice to me so maybe Dee was just cursed like I was.

"Whatever you say Snuggle Bunny" I assured her "your wish is my command and all that".

"Don't you call me Snuggle Bunny like everything's okay between us" Raven said "Because it's not".

Now that the ground seemed more even I stood up again and made my way towards the back of the house, but not before saying.

"If you keep being mean towards me then I'm not going to ask you to marry me".

As I known it would those words caused Ray to follow me into the bedroom, and her mood was now a much better one.

"But you have to marry Blackfire" Raven pointed out "She told me when we went out drinking".

Well I had assumed that she'd already been told this, and it at least it confirmed that Galatea wasn't bothered by the news. She'd been a good mood the entire time we'd been here.

"Oh so it's okay for you to go out and get drunk, but when I do you get all huffy" I said as I laid down on the huge bed.

That was very hypocritical of her.

"We can get married cause a marriage on an alien planet doesn't mean anything here on Earth" I told Raven "It won't be legally recognised. Death of the Endless gave me the idea and she seemed to know what she was talking about".

It took Raven a moment to answer as she crawled into bed so I could hold her close.

"I didn't think of it that way" she admitted "Would you marry me first?".

"No he has marry me first" Blackfire said as she put climbed into bed and decided to hug me from behind "He got me pregnant it's only fair".

Made sense to me.

"But I've been with him longer" Raven argued

Knowing that this could end in a flaming row I decided to put my foot down like any other guy with three lovers should.

"We can discuss it when we get home. Until then I don't want to hear any more about it".

That shut them up.

"I so don't care" Karen chimed in "I just want some sex".

At least she was easy to please.

"When we get back home" I promised her "I'll do things to you that don't bare mentioning".

"You promise?" she asked as she also got into bed.

"I promise" I assured her "now everyone go to sleep we have a volcano to explore in the morning".

And with any luck my moody girlfriend would not ruin it for everyone.


	40. Chapter 40

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Dark Mirror 1**

**Titan Tower – Jump City – May 2003**

"Hi, Raven!" Beast Boy greeted with a smile, as the magic using heroine entered the kitchen area of Titan Tower.

"Hey" Raven muttered back before she started digging through the cabinets.

Noticing her grouchy tone, which was worse than it normally was Cyborg looked up from his breakfast and made a quick scan of the part demon. His scan showed him that Raven's body temperature was higher than normal, and with his human eye he noticed that she seemed to be more than a little uncomfortable. He concluded that she was ill, but he wasn't sure if he should point it out or not.

"You okay?" he asked her with concern in his voice.

Rather than replay the heroine shut a cabinet door forcefully enough that it slammed shut.

"Where's the aspirin?" she demanded to know.

They'd only just started to restock the place for the new Teen Titans, but Raven was sure that there would be painkillers around here somewhere.

"It's on the top shelf of the far right cabinet in the corner" he answered quickly.

Raven looked where her friend had indicated and found what she sought almost immediately. Without delay she took out two pills from the bottle. Then grabbing a glass from the wash rack she filled it from the tap, tossed the pills to the back of her throat, and washed them down with the water.

A wave of dizziness then hit her and she was forced to lean her hands on the counter in order to avoid falling over. Something was really wrong and she wasn't sure that it was anything to do with her.

"Rae? Raven? _Rae-_veeeen?" Beast Boy called out.

"What?!" she almost screamed

"Goth and 'Tea are going out for the day" informed the shape-shifter before starting to back away "they told me to tell you".

By that he meant Gothic and Galatea were out for the day. It wasn't going to take that many people to get the tower ready so there had been no need for the immortal and his third girlfriend to stick around.

"Good for them." Raven muttered darkly before turning back to the counter and picking up the bottle of store brought aspirin.

"Where did they go?" she asked once she had calmed down a little.

The headache had struck her without warning only moments ago, but now it seemed to have dulled a little. The magic user hoped that the painkillers would deal with the rest of the discomfort.

"Don't know" the green skinned teen replied, who was now making an effect not to be in Raven's line of sight.

The daughter of Trigon knew that there was something really wrong with either her or with the rest of the universe, and she needed to find out what that was.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be on the roof. Meditating."

Without further adieu she left the room as soon and as she did Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged a look.

"Does she seem grumpier than usual today?" the shape-shifter asked.

The half-robot may of replied, only that was when the crime alert went off.

**(Line Break)**

**Streets - Jump City – May 2003**

A loud thunder-clap deafened hundreds as a mystical light show appeared above the people filled streets of Jump City. As the supernatural gateway opened the very fabric of reality seemed to rip apart. The vast amounts of dark magic being employed to create this doorway between dimensions sent the delicate electrical systems inside homes, businesses and cars, haywire as the laws of physics were violated.

A couple drivers swerved their cars off course in surprise as a group of strangely dressed figures stumbled through the rift between realities,and right onto the busy road. A sports car almost hit the dimension hoppers, but at the last second the blonde haired member of the group moved at amazing speed. She picked the vehicle up and then threw into a nearby convenience store with enough force that it exploded, killing three people.

"Yes!" a male figure in all black called out in triumph " It worked and you thought we'd get lost in the multiverse trying to find another Earth"

The super strong blonde girl, who was also dressed in all black, smiled at the very happy man before saying.

"You know me and magic don't mix. I was just worried that we'd end up jumping from dimension to dimension for the rest of our lives".

The smallest and youngest person in this team, who wore a tight jet black body suit to match her hair, moved over to the dark haired man and rested her head on his chest.

"That was kinda scary" she complained.

The clearly alien member of this group, an ebony haired beauty who wore a sexy outfit that was dark purple in colour, had a wild joyful look on her face as she looked around.

"That was… amazing!" she exclaimed "we so have to do that again".

"Later 'Fire. Later" said the only male in the group" We'll have time to go universe-hopping after we set up a new base here".

"Assuming this dimension is suitable for our needs" commented a pale skinned purple haired woman.

Her body and most of her face were hidden under a dark blue cloak but many people in this city would recognise her voice.

"And I don't have the strength to open another portal, so we need to be careful. We can't afford to draw attention to ourselves, at least not until my powers are restored".

The alien babe pouted, jutting her lip out and crossed her arms in disappointment. However it was the look of a disappointed child rather than a rebellions minion.

"Spoil sport" said the dark haired alien while sticking out her tongue

The blonde haired girl took off her leather jacket and passed it to the youngest member of the team who put it on rather than have to carry it. Without the jacket the super strong woman's body could be more clearly seen. She wore leather pants that hugged her form so tightly that they looked to have been painted on. Her long sleeved top was made of thin material and was transparent enough to show that she had an impressive set of breasts, that were partly hidden only by a black bra.

"I'll take a look around" offered the super powered blonde.

With that the very attractive girl took to the air, showing off another of her many super powers, and then began slowly spinning on the spot while she took in the entire city. When she was done the woman landed and made a report to the others.

"I can see a few places that might work for us. There's some warehouses with lead floors so there could be some basements we can hide in".

"No way" protested the dark haired alien hottie "I am so not living in a basement".

''Me neither" agreed the robed woman "there could be rats".

"Well there's a T shaped tower, that looks good. It's full of high tech stuff but that'll make in harder to break into. Oh and there's another tower with some high tech toys, for some reason it's its underground and goes deep but what's really weird is that Jinx is in there".

The cloaked figure and the man in black exchanged looks and then both said.

"Titan Tower and the H.I.V.E"

The two of them were clearly the leaders of this group, as it looked as if they were trying to make a decision about what to do next. However they didn't get much time as police sirens could now be heard.

"Not a great response" commented the youngest girl in the group after closing her "only two cars"

This group were unaware that their arrival had disabled the phones for the this entire city block, so it had taken the locals a little time to get to a working phone or to a place were their mobiles worked.

"C'mon, the day's young and we've got a lot to do" said the male of the group "let's take over H.I.V.E tower and go from there".

With that the cloaked woman began chanting some strange words and the invaders from another dimension all vanished as magic was once more employed to teleport them elsewhere.

(Line Break)

**H.I.V.E Tower – Jump City - May 2003  
**

Unlike the T shaped tower that was home to the Titans, the H.I.V.E tower did not raise up into the air it was fact underground like a nail driven into ground only it was in the shape of a letter H. From the outside it was also like an ice berg, only a tenth of the tower could be seen on the surface. The rest of it was hidden out of sight.

However when you were inside the Tower you didn't notice that. There were no windows to show the lack of sky. Also it was surprising warm for a home belonging to super villains and even little cosy. It also had a lot of rooms, meaning there was able space for all, and it was full of advanced technology. In many ways it rivalled Titan Tower in both scale and in the amount of resources it supplied its inhabitants with.

Which had been the point really.

Of course its most important feature was that it wasn't exactly easy to find or to get into. The tower had defences both mundane and mystical. Sadly for the current members of H.I.V.E these protections meant nothing to those who had once lived in an almost exact copy of this building.

So when the members of the H.I.V.E found themselves face to face with an equal number of intruders they were more than a little surprised. Until now no one had just teleported into their base and attacked them.

Jinx, the second in command of the group, was the most surprised of all as she ended up going up against someone she knew.

"Raven!" the grey skinned luck manipulator called out.

Rather than reply the Raven of a different universe simply stood still as she tried to recover some of her power. However the other intruders were not so passive.

Mammoth, the largest and strongest of the H.I.V.E Five found himself in a situation that was both physically painful and extremely humiliating. A girl who was only five foot five was proving that she was no only stronger than him, but that she was also far more deadly. The woman couldn't of been human, even if she did look it, as her strength completely outclassed Mammoth and to make it worse she was also incredibly fast. Unless something miraculous happened he was going to die a very painful death,

Meanwhile Gizmo, a midget with an astounding skill for building gadgets and a rather foul mouth, found that his technology was useless right now as he was never given a chance to use any of it. A small girl with jet black hair and a very creepy expression had reached into his mind. Gizmo was losing his sanity, and in moments he would nothing more than a drooling vegetable incapable of interacting with the outside world as he would be trapped in a world of his own nightmares.

Another member of the H.I.V.E Kyd Wykkyd also found himself outmatched. The mutated human had a numbers of skills and special powers to call upon, but also so did his foe. Still the villain native to this universe had defended himself well, it even looked like he might hold his own. Then without warning the man he'd been fighting had somehow blinded him using a magic spell. Panic rendered Kyd Wykkyd helpless, and he was taken a part with ruthless efficiency. He died when his neck was snapped, but not until a lot of other body parts had been broken.

The H.I.V.E Five member who actually died first was called Billy Numerous. Had his foe, an ebony haired super powered alien, not shot him with her energy beams emitted from her hands and eyes, he might have been able to turn the tide of this battle by replicating himself enough times to give his team a number advantage. Unfortunately his killer hadn't been in the mood for a fight, having other plans in mind, so Billy ended his days with a big hole in his chest.

Had the other fights gone better, Jinx, might of actually beaten Raven. The part demon, whose counter part in this reality was actually a friend of hers, seemed to be barely standing and whatever magic she had left to call upon was being used to shield herself. Still Jinx fell rather quickly as after the male attacker had blinded his opponent, the man in black had thrown a sedative coated dart right at Jinx. The drug entered her system and put her down for a nap. She had no idea if she would ever wake up.

(Line Break)

**Titan Tower – Jump City - May 2003  
**

I placed my helmet down on the seat of my Spazfrag for moment so that I could once more check my appearance. I wasn't this shallow normally, but I wanted to make a good impression as I had a date today.

Once I was sure my hair was not going to be a total mess I buckled the straps of my helmet and secured it in place. I didn't really need one of these, but since I was going to riding on the roads it was a good idea to obey the rules. I so didn't want to get pulled over.

I then heard soft footfalls and glanced over to see Galatea I could also see that she had taken great care when getting ready for the day. Her clothes were pretty casual, just a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and trainers but I could tell she was wearing make up, but not to much and she had clearly spent more than a few moments on her hair judging by how good it looked.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"I am" she replied

I mounted my flying motorcycle and keyed the ignition. For once the wheels that were normally safely tucked away were touching the road. I wouldn't be flying today so I didn't need the AI.

Galatea sat behind me, and had wrapped her arms comfortably around my waist, and while it felt really nice I didn't let it distract me as I drove the bike down tunnel that ran under the bay and connected the island the tower rested on to the mainland.

Soon I was driving along the coast road and that allowed me to look out over the beach and to the ocean beyond. I had to stop for a few moments just so I could admire the view, but we didn't stay long as I had a lot planned for the day.

Their first stop was the carnival by the pier. The tourist season hadn't started just yet so very little was open, but neither of us cared as what rides there were had next to no queues.

After that our next stop was a small restaurant even further up the coast where we had a large lunch, which we ate sitting outside so as to enjoy the pleasant weather.

We let stomachs settle a little before we travelled some more, and then stopped at an ice cream shop for some dessert. I parked the Spazfrag and we sat on bench while we enjoyed our double-scoop cones.

"So is everything ready for Ray's Birthday" Karen inquired, as she devoured her ice cream.

"Pretty much." I replied "I still have to pick up the cake, but everything else is good to go".

"She's gonna hate you for not tell her about the surprise party" 'Tea then said.

"Can't argue with that" I agreed

She would indeed be mad, but she'd get over it.

Neither us said anything for a while, we just enjoyed the day for a while but eventually I had to ask her something.

"So… was this an okay date?" I wanted to know.

Karen seemed ready to start having sex with me, but I was still a little old fashioned and I wanted to take on her another date before that happened.

"It isn't even over yet" she pointed out.

That didn't really answer the question.

"I know, but… was it?" I asked with a tone of anxiety.

Oddly I was nervous about this date. Which was strange because by now I really should be used to this sort of thing.

"You worry too much" Galeta said in reply as she moved closer to me "I don't care that much dates"

Despite what she had said when she moved even closer to me I could tell that she really appreciate all the trouble I'd gone to.

"I'm glad you approve" I said with a smile

We were just about to kiss when something in distance went_ 'BOOM!'_

(Line Break)

**H.I.V.E Tower – Jump City – May 2003**

"Hey Gothic, I put the bodies in the incinerator" the blonde hair super powered woman reported as she entered what seemed to be this towers command and control room "anything else you want me to?"

The man called Gothic shook his head and then said.

"You've done enough Kara".

Kara smiled and then moved over to the super criminal who was sitting at a chair while looking over some monitors. Without being asked she began to rub his shoulders while saying.

"Aww, but I like doing things for you".

This action seemed to annoy the female youngest crook who went and planted herself on the male leader's lap while giving Kara a scary glare.

"Don't be selfish, Ace" chided the blonde woman "there's more than enough of him to go around".

"No fighting" warned Gothic "I'm trying to work".

"What are you working on?" asked the ebony haired alien babe, who was currently filing her nails while sitting on a couch "I hope it's something that leads to action, because I'm already board".

"Come on Blackfire" said the man at the computers "wasn't the battle we just had enough to satisfy you"

The alien hottie pushed a lock of her dark hair out of her eyes before saying.

"Please, Goth. I do adore you sweetness, but you know I only fight if there's money in it, or if it gets me sex, and maybe for gifts. Which I notice I have gotten any of so far today. And coming here isn't exactly going to get me my throne back".

Blackfire's main motivation was depose her younger sister so that she could retake the throne and once more rule her people. Raven and Gothic had promised her, that once the Earth was under their control, they would put Blackfire back in charge, but that had never happened. Not that this was a problem as Ace the telepathic meta-human had rewired Blackfire's mind to make her loyal to Gothic, but the deal was still in effect since it kept the exiled alien princess motivated.

"Given that your sister isn't here, then you still have a chance of getting that throne back from her" remarked Gothic "one version of your world is as good as another, right?".

"Wait so little Starfire was here?" questioned Blackfire as she got up and ran over to the bank of screens "oh no wait let me guess she was a Titan here too".

"Yeah" replied Gothic "and so was Raven of all people".

The three girls in the room which more than a little shocked to hear that there was a good version of Raven in this universe. Back home she'd been a member of that world's H.I.V.E Five, and then she'd been Queen of an entire underworld after she'd destroyed her demonic father.

"Raven, Queen of the Underworld has a goody dimensional twin" said Kara with a laugh "That I have to see this".

Upon her request Gothic brought up the file that showed a photo of the former Teen Titan known as Raven.

"No mocking my wife or her dimensional counterpart" warned the leader of the group, before any jokes or snide comments could be made "and while were on that subject I should go and tell her what I've found out".

(Line Break)

**Titan Tower – Jump City – May 2003**

"Something wrong?" Raven asked of Cyborg.

Not looking up as he peered at the readings, the part machine said.

"I just booted up The Tower's sensors and they picked up some weird energy readings"

Raven took a look at the screens herself, crossing her arms and leaning over to better see.

"Do you know what's causing it?" the daughter of Trigon inquired.

"No. But I do know that it's connected to whoever threw that car this morning".

By the time any of the former Titans had gotten to that part of the city the criminals had already vanished. The only evidence of their existence, aside from the witnesses, was that the fact that a sports car had been thrown into a store with enough force to cause an explosion.

Cyborg rolled his chair out a bit from the desk.

"Whatever it is, it's also causing some interference with everyone's communications network. Nothing too serious, its just really annoying"

From the kitchen, Beast Boy called out.

"Hey Ray. I'm make you some tea what kind do you want?"

That she was unwell was clear to all, and in his own way Beast Boy was trying to help, so Raven didn't ignore him as she often did.

"Mint!" she told him. "And get me another aspirin.. please"

"I think you're over the recommended daily dosage already" replied the shape-shifter.

Raven groaned miserably. Which caused Cyborg to ask.

"You sick Ray?"

At this point there was no denying it. Really Raven was it no state to be brining the tower back to working order, but Blackfire and Ace had insisted that she get out of the house.

"I don't know. I've had a headache all morning." she said.

Cyborg stood up, and raised his arm to perform a detailed analysis on her.

"What kind of headache?" he then asked her.

Raven raised her face from her hands and attempted to describe her symptoms. However she didn't have anything helpful to say.

"The usual kind?" she answered

As Cyborg started analysing, Raven began to feel very self-conscious, and began backing away.

"It's nothing too serious, really. Don't worry about it, Cy." she said, trying to brush off his concerns

"If you're coming down with something I think we should know, before your birthday turns into a day of grossness "

A few moments more and his arm beeped with the results.

"My scan says you're normal" informed Cyborg "When did you first start having symptoms?"

"A few minutes before the Crime Alert went off" the part demon said.

Cyborg jolted slightly upon hearing that.

"You sure?" he pressed.

"Pretty sure" Raven said.

She wasn't one hundred percent certain but the timing was right.

The part robot – part human, turned back to his computer and began tapping rapidly at the keyboard. At the same time Beast Boy brought in Raven's tea, he'd gone to the effort of making an entire pot of the stuff and was even willing to drink some of it himself.

"You think that weird energy has something to do with Raven's headache?" the green skinned teen asked.

"I think so" Cyborg answered.

"So then how come we're okay?" Garfield questioned, while handing a cup of steaming tea to Raven.

"Maybe Raven's just more sensitive to it." Cyborg theorised.

Her powers didn't work that way. She was sensitive to things like emotions, minds, and presences. Not energy that messed with people's phones. Well not unless their mysterious energy readings were somehow magical in nature. But if it was magical in nature then she doubted the Tower's sensors were equipped to pick up that sort of thing.

Cyborg stopped typing, and then straightened up. It seemed that he'd found what he'd been looking for.

"The timing was right" the half-robot "and there was another energy spike a few moments later, and my internal clock puts at the same moment you looked all dizzy. There's nothing physical wrong with you Ray, but somehow this energy is effecting you".

"Guess now we know why all those painkillers haven't been working" she said "there's something supernatural going on. The energy field messing with the phones is the result of someone using a lot of magic".

"Should I call Goth and 'Tea, tell them to come back?" asked Beast Boy.

"No" answered Raven "until we know more we might as well let them get on with their date. One interruption was enough".

"But how do we find out more?" inquired BB.

It was a valid question.

"Now that we know how to detect these power spikes we can see if they form any sort of pattern" said Cyborg "and if you help me set up some equipment we've got in storage then I can create a warning system that will alert us as soon as there is another power spike".

"Sounds like a plan" agreed Raven as she pulled up her hood "I have a spell I can try, so how about we met back here in a couple of hours".

The two guys agreed with her and then they got to work.

(Line Break)

**H.I.V.E Tower – Jump City – May 2003**

Across town another Raven was enjoying some tea while trying to figure out what to do next. However unlike her counterpart she was in a good mood, a mood made better when her husband walked into the room.

"Set up the bondage gear I see" said the immortal warrior.

Raven had taken the largest empty room for herself and then had set about modifying it to her tastes. Aside from a large four poster bed, and her other comforts, all of which had been packed away in her pocket dimension, there were chains upon one of the walls.

However while they were being used to restrain a naked women, there wasn't really anything kinky going on as even the former ruler of a hell didn't enjoy having a dying girl in her bedroom. It was the wrong sort of moaning for a start, and she wasn't really into the girl on girl thing anyway.

"What did you do to her?" Gothic asked as he examined Jinx.

He knew that she was dying, but she didn't seem have any visible injuries, nor did the villain seemed to be altogether in the head.

"I ate her soul" Raven explained

That surprised Gothic quiet a bit.

"You did what?" he questioned.

"I took her soul and used it recharge my powers" the part demon clarified.

"Okay" the immortal said as he joined his wife on the bed"I was looking forward to seeing if she was anything like the Jinx we knew, but ah well".

"She not dead" the evil magic user pointed out "you live without a soul if it's removed the right way. She's just dying because I drained her life force, so you can still..."

"No thank you" Gothic said very quickly "I like my girls to want to have sex with me, and to still be breathing afterwards"

Even for the whole necrophilia thing was a bit much even for him.

"Oh is that why you're here" Raven said with a smile "do you want some attention from me".

Being empathic she could sense her partner's desires, so she knew that Gothic wanted her, but she also knew that he was distracted by something.

"What's wrong lover" the part demon inquired.

This version of Raven had only one redeeming quality. She actually loved Gothic, in fact she adored him and genuinely cared for his well-being. However it wasn't exactly a healthy attachment. She was obsessed with giving him whatever his dark heart desired, regardless of how it effected the lives of other people.

However things would actually be worse for those people if he wasn't around. Because the only other things Raven cared about was power and lashing out those who had hurt her. She'd burn the Earth in order to rule over what was left. Gothic was the only one who could restrain his wife's growing lust for death and destruction.

"I've been going over the information the H.I.V.E has on the heroes here" the immortal said "you should see whose in the Teen Titans they have here. It might make you laugh".

When he told it did make her laugh.

"I'm a super hero here!" she called out between hysterical bouts "Doesn't she know she's part demon? I mean what, does she think she can go to heaven when she dies if she helps enough people?"

Neither of them if that was actually possible, and neither of them really cared enough to find out.

"I doubt that's her motivation" said Gothic "heroes tend to good for the sake of it, not for some reward later".

"Good is stupid" Raven said after another laugh.

"Yeah, but that's not all" the heir of Trigon informed her "there's also a Justice League here and it's a big one".

That made the daughter of Trigon sit up straight before she asked.

"And what, five Teen Titans?"

"Actually they closed down according to the files, but some of the former members are still in town. Including a version of me".

With surprising strength Raven suddenly forced her husband onto the bed and then got on top of him. She then removed her cloak to show that she was wearing a black outfit that didn't cover much of anything. Only she had only a short skirt over the underwear which rode up as she sensually and slowly dry humped her lover.

"So what do you want" the part demon asked with coy smile "aside from my body that is".

Gothic put his hands on his wife's hips before answering.

"I'm sure the Titans will have the data I want. So I was thinking that I could take my girls...".

"Your pets" corrected Raven as she moved her lover's hands to her chest "I'm your girl"

As far as the part demon was concerned, she and Gothic were gods , or at least they soon would be. Anyone else he showed affection to was just a pet in her mind. And everyone else was either in their way or a tool to be used once they were brought under control.

"My pets" said the immortal before getting back on track, which was tricky as there was a lot to distract him "I'll take them out for some exercise and draw out these former Titans out into the open. Then you go to the tower and get the information I need. I have a little gadget that I'll handle that part. If your quick then the heroes won't even know you exist and that means..."

"When we move to take them out they won't be expecting me" Raven realised "Oh that is clever. And if I look like their friend they won't expect me to attack them either".

"Once I have the data I need I'll borrow a page from someone's else book. I'll have to make the plans a bit more lethal, but it could work. But it all depends on me having the knowledge I need".

Raven started to undo her top.

"Can it wait a couple of hours?" she asked with a sexy smile "I haven't felt his good in days and I want you inside me".

"It can wait until tomorrow" the immortal said "I'm all yours until then, but please just get rid of the dead body first".

Using her powers Raven put in the now dead Jinx into her pocket dimension. She had a plan for that body but the necromancy could wait, right now she badly wanted sex.


	41. Chapter 41

**Reviews **

**ImaRussian**

Not exactly like the Tower of Babel. No Gothic will use a plan that failed so badly.

This part of the story is more about a Gothic fighting another Gothic as I did promise that a while ago.

If you think killing her was bad you have no idea.

**Keldeox**

If it means anything the Jinx in my Red-X story is alive and while. I promise not to kill that one off.

Also when you get to the end of this chapter you will understand why I am saying sorry now. Sorry.

**ThelonewolfNT**

Yeah it will end bloody.

**Joe Lawyer**

None of the Endless can do anything to Gothic as he's not under their jurisdiction, so to speak. I don't indeed for Dee to actually do anything other than be a friend as she knows that involving herself to closely would only bring doom down upon people Gothic knows.

Women are insane about marriage. I'll never understand why putting a shiny ring on their finger means so much.

I didn't say he wouldn't die, because he did in The Balance, it's just that Death of the Endless won't reap his soul. She can't see his fate.

**DarkAvenger001**

Glad you liked it.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Dark Mirror 2**

**Titan Tower – Jump City**

Raven smiled slightly as she hovered in lotus position above the Tower's roof. Her head was now free of pain, and she'd managed to get a good night's sleep despite the horror of the upcoming surprise birthday party.

What also had her a little worried was that the new Teen Titans were starting to claim the Tower as their own, and by extension Jump City would soon also be their city. That meant Raven had to leave, she didn't want to but as long as the former Titans stayed the new group wouldn't truly be the Teen Titans. At least not fully.

So Raven, Blackfire, Gothic and Galatea were going to move to a new city, while Ace stayed behind. Which city they would soon call home none of them knew yet, although Freedom City was most likely going to be there new home as it could do with some super heroes protecting it.

However they weren't going to day as Gothic wanted to track down Red-X before he left so Raven hadn't started packing yet, she just going to enjoy what time she had left to call this city her home.

The peaceful moments like this were a precious thing to her. Although she didn't have to meditate as much to keep control of her powers these days, as Trigon could longer use her emotions against her, and her deal with the goddess of Cosmic Balance helped to keep her powers from harming anyone just because she was being bitchy, but she still liked to take the time to relax and calm herself.

Raven breathed in and out in steady, as she reached out with her empathic abilities. The inside of the tower was filled with feelings connected to stress which was no doubt the fault of Beast Boy attempting to show Wildfire, who just had returned to Earth, how to cook tofu.

She then felt a familiar mind heading her way, one she knew quite well even if she'd never been able to see into it.

A few moments later her boyfriend stepped into view. The immortal brushed himself off as he came up to edge of the roof near where Raven was floating, and started look out over the glistening sunlit bay.

"What brings you up here?" she asked without opening her eyes.

She could hazard a guess if she so wished.

"I needed some fresh air" he explained "And to get away from the food fight Beastie Boy just started"

Raven had to suppress a sigh, BB's antics weren't as cute as they used to be. He still acted like he was still fourteen sometimes.

"Where's Blackfire?" the magical girl then asked.

Today it was Galatea's turn to be stuck in the Watchtower while Blackfire got to spend time with her friends.

"Trying to break it up" Gothic answered.

"My sympathies to her" stated the daughter of Trigon.

A moment passed, and Raven returned to her meditation as Gothic kept on stared out towards the silver skyscrapers in the distance.

"So looking forward to getting old?" the immortal asked.

That question made Raven open her eyes.

"What?" she said with confusion.

The remark had surprised her.

"Your birthday. It's tomorrow, right?" her boyfriend said as if didn't know "You're turning twenty. That's one step closer to being old and boring".

Which was another reason why Raven had to leave, you couldn't be a Teen Titan when you weren't a teenager.

"Am I really" she said dryly "I forgot".

Truth be told she'd never dreamed she would live this long as such she'd never really had to come to terms with the idea of ageing. Not that she would age much over the next couple of centuries due her being the Handmaiden of Cosmic balance, but still she would grow older in mind if not in body.

"All my life I've dreaded my birthday" Raven admitted "so it's very weird not having to worry about it"

Then she remembered that she might have a reason to fear.

"You're not throwing me a surprise party are you?" she asked in concern "I used to hate when the Titans did it".

That made Gothic smile and say.

"My lips are sealed"

Neither of them said anything for a while, and that was fine with both of them as they didn't need words.

"So any plans for tomorrow?" Gothic asked "Aside from getting a walking stick I mean, or are you going for a zimmer frame".

Raven had a retort in place, one that should make the immortal cease with the age jokes.

"You know I might be getting to old to spank".

Gothic smiled and said.

"Birthday spankings are mandatory"

She said nothing to that so she could hide the fact that the idea was actually very appealing, as long as it was done in private and only Gothic did the spanking.

"I heard Terra's taking you out to lunch" the immortal tried to casually mention.

Raven peered at him impassively out of the corner of her eye. She knew what he was thinking, if only because she knew him so well.

"And if she is?" challenged the young woman.

"Just don't get into another mud wresting match" Gothic requested "or if you do make sure your in bikini's and I can watch. Maybe even record it".

Raven might have been annoyed if someone else had said that but she knew when her lover was just kidding around, and getting her friends back had really lightened her mood so she didn't react badly.

"No promises" was all the answer she gave to that request.

She now wanted to change the subject.

"Thanks for the trip away" Raven then said "I really like having my friends around".

She was also grateful that it was so easy to say things like that. A few years ago she never would have enjoyed a trip like that, and while she still had her moods it had overall been a good time. Even being dragged off to see the volcano had been a lot of fun.

"And I like seeing you happy, or at least less moody" the immortal replied.

Ray had no intention of letting that one slide.

"Have fun on your date with Galatea by the way" she said causally "Tonight's the third one you've had, so you better take protection".

Power Girl would be free from monitor duty by tonight and she had plans, this would be the third date in row.

"Thanks... wait what?" the immortal stuttered

Raven had to work to hide her grin.

"You got Blackfire pregnant so you need to be more careful. I can teach you about contraceptives if you like?"

Given that he now had to marry Blackfire, Raven felt she deserved the right to tease him about it as really her boyfriend should be marrying her as they'd been together the longest, even counting her time away, however Gothic was not amused.

"How was I suppose to know that she could get knocked up?" he said sounding defensive "We're not even the same species".

They would have talked about it more but the alien princess he had impregnated made an appearance.

"I ended the food fight." she announced in a way that made it sound as if she had brought peace to the middle east.

"You okay?" Gothic asked in concern.

She was with child so naturally he didn't want Fire in any sort of danger, and while food fights rarely resulted in injury these things could happen when people with super powers started acting like children.

"I'm fine, handsome" she assured her love interest

"Good." Gothic then smiled and said "Why don't you get cleaned up and met me down in the lobby. I'll take you for lunch".

Blackfire returned the smile, and her whole expression brightened.

"I'll met you there!" she told her lover.

_The immortal then turned to his other girlfriend _

_"I'll take you out tomorrow" he promised "but for now I need to go and make sure that mess gets cleared up"_

Quickly Gothic kissed his magical girlfriend on the cheek and headed inside to make sure the tower wasn't totally trashed.

With Raven sigh of contentment as silence returned to the rooftop. Her eyes closed and her senses cleared. Then Raven cried out a world's worst headache returned to torment her.

**Streets – Jump City – May 2003**

Across town another Raven was employing dark magic to needlessly torture a random bystander. There was no reason for this really, she just liked hurting people. She hadn't always been that way, once she'd actually been a nice person even when she'd been more demonic.

Ironically she looked more human than she'd used to as she used her blood link with Trigon to destroy her sire's physical body, but on a spiritual level she was more evil then ever.

"You really should get yourself a slave girl" her husband commented "it's much more fun to hurt someone if they enjoy a little pain".

Raven stopped and considered the point even while her lover's pets trashed the area around her.

"Would it turn you on?" she asked of her husband.

"Long as you didn't go too far, then hell yeah!" he replied.

Raven spent a moment thinking that it might not be a bad idea. She did so enjoy so enjoy doing things for her lover.

"I'll think about it" she told him before opening a portal "but for now you have a job to do, they should be on their way by now".

"They are" confirmed Ace "I can feel people heading our way and they are not scared of us".

Which was an oddity for this group. People ran in terror from them for good reasons.

"Buy me as much time as you can" Raven ordered.

The evil magic user then stepped through the portal and left everything else to her husband and his pets.

Seconds later the heroes arrived. They didn't even bother to demand a surrender, they just attacked the bad guys. Even the fact that the evil people had familiar faces did stop them.

Both teams collided in an explosion of battle. The evil Gothic soon found himself dodging some gunshots as the other Gothic opened fire. Then he leapt to the air, only to be tackled to the ground by the man in black.

"So evil twin, huh" the Gothic who was part of the Justice League said "I was wondering if I had one".

The evil twin twisted and pulled himself free, then gave his good counterpart a hard kick, pushing the rocker away from him. Sadly it didn't have much of an effect because being the same person they could predict at least some of the other's moves.

"Is that really the best you can do?" mocked the evil Gothic "I thought you heroes were good at this stuff".

Even if the nicer immortal had wanted to reply there was no chance too as evil Gothic was struck down by Cyborg's sonic canon.

"You okay?" Cyborg asked his friend in concern.

Shooting a friend's evil twin was never easy, but it worse to actually fight a darker version of yourself. Cyborg knew this from experience.

"I'm fine" the other former Teen Titan said.

Actually he wasn't he was really freaked out, but he was getting over it fast because he had to, and if anything his main source of annoyance came from the fact that his lunch date with Blackfire had been ruined.

"I'll call the New Titans Cyborg" said "We need back up".

That would leave the tower defenceless, but they had no other choice and the part robot made the call.

Cyborg suddenly then discovered that he was in the air. Before he could react to that he was being thrown down hard, so hard in fact that the roof an already damaged car was destroyed by his landing.

"No one shoots my man and gets away with it" Kara declared

It took a moment before Cyborg realized how much pain he had just earned himself. The glowing red eyes clued him in and the lasers that followed really spelled it out.

Thankfully his doom ever came as the Blackfire of this universe blasted the blonde woman with her own energy attack.

"I thought I got rid of you," Kara sighed in exasperation, while her eyes were still glowing threateningly.

Kara had only moments ago thrown Blackfire over the horizon, but apparently that hadn't been enough. The alien princess was far more powerful than she looked, and unlike her evil counterpart this version of Blackfire actually cared about other people.

While the two girls were talking Cyborg fired up his sonic canon and then said to the bad Supergirl.

"It'll take a lot more than that to get rid of me"

The former Teen Titans were not to be underestimated, and the bad guys were about to find out exactly why.

Nearby good Gothic threw a smoke bomb at his counter part and swung his staff, but the evil Gothic quickly whipped out his own and blocked the strike before going on the offensive.

"_Anything you can do, I can do better_" the villain sang.

The Gothic who lived in this city let out a battle cry and charged towards his counterpart, but the warrior from another universe used Old One magic to set him on fire. However it had no effect as they were immune to each other's magical powers.

Knowing this the native Gothic threw an explosive disk, one that Robin had left, at the visiting Gothic . However it suddenly changed direction and exploded harmlessly in the sky.

"Thank you Ace. That was very well done" Evil Gothic praised.

Ace would have helped before but she soon found herself locked in a mental with the other Ace, who had been transported here by the good Raven when she also realised that they needed the help of the Titans.

Soon the two Gothics found themselves in a close up fight, at least until the bad immortal slipped behind the good one, and gave him a hard, blunt strike to the back of his head.

Just above the two men the pregnant Blackfire ducked to avoid a starbolt that had been sent right at her by her own evil twin, and in return she kept up her steady barrage of starbolts. Not that this did any good as they both were able to dodge each others attacks.

However this stalemate didn't last long as the knocked up Blackfire tasted gravel in her mouth as she smashed face-first into the road. She soon scrambled to her feet, whirling around for fear of being attacked again by the powerful blonde. Thankfully Raven's headache was no longer preventing her from focusing, and a magical attack sent evil Kara smashing into another building.

Not far away from all that chaos and confusion Gothic was asking himself a question. No watching this battle would be able to tell which one he was as both men dressed alike. But thankfully for the good guys there were some enough differences for them to tell the two immortals apart.

"_Who are you_?"

"Tyrants" said the evil visitor to his reality "We are the Tyrants. We are meant to conquer and to rule".

The Gothic that belong in this reality glared at his evil twin with a look of rage, but he also felt despair the Tyrants were very powerful. This would not end well, they had to find a way to win this fight.

Again their staffs clanged against each other with a metallic ring, and both of them jockeyed for leverage, trying to push the other back.

In the end it was the native immortal who managed to win this round. He gave a great shove that sent the evil rocker reeling back, and followed that up with a spin kick towards the other immortal's head.

Evil Gothic ducked it, easily, and countered with a jab of his staff to other him's side. The hit wasn't bad, but the Gothic of this city still retreated a few paces as that had really hurt his ribs. None were broken but the blow had been a powerful one. The evil rocker was stronger than he looked.

The super villain then came at the hero again with a low swing, and the good guybatted his opponent away. Their staffs banged together a few more times, the sharp sound echoing off the faces of the buildings. Then good Gothic shifted his footing and managed to get inside the evil immortal's guard. With a quick sweep he dropped the other dark haired man flat onto his back.

Good Gothic was about to go for a knock-out blow that would have been lethal to a normal human, when evil Gothic kicked out, catching the other version of himsekf solidly in the chin with his heavy boot, before then getting to his feet.

Shaking off the pain in his jaw, the more heroic Gothic ran at his foe once more and struck. But Tryant Gothic simply sidestepped the swing and then grabbed the staff at the middle so that he could try to wrest it from the hero's hand, and then a tug-of-war began.

The native immortal Gothic was clearly familiar with all the same forms he knew, but the evil verion;s movements were more aggressive, harsher a lot like those used by Slade.

Good Gothic admitted to himself that it was a bit of a toss-up right now as to which of the two fighters would win. They were evenly matched in nearly every respects.

However one of the Gothic's hadn't trained with Son Goku and that was what made the difference. Spending months exercising and sparring at ten times normal Earth gravity had been hard work but it paid off. The less evil Gothic won the tug of war.

Then a sudden surprise attach by the Balance serving Raven brought the local Gothic a few seconds when she blasted evil Gothic with some of her dark energy, but it didn't buy him as much time as he needed to charge up a even a small spirit bomb, as another of the Tyrants decided that she didn't like seeing their immortal get hurt.

Evil Blackfire hit the heroic version of Gothic with a blow to his stomach that sent him stumbling back, and his shoulders and head met painfully with the brick wall behind him. His vision went fuzzy a moment, but he recovered just in time to see Tryant Blackfire's fist coming right at him.

The Gothic in the Justice League dropped down into a crouch just in the nick of time; Tryant Blackfire's fist met the wall where his head had been a moment ago, and she did not at all enjoy that experience. She grunted, and then nearly dropped to the floor as the nicer of the two immortal's proved he wasn't that good by hitting a lady with his staff.

Then after successfully using some more smoke bombs to escape he tried to find the others. Cyborg was still dodging laser attacks from Kara. She was toying with the machine man, she could of killed him a dozen times by now. The local Gothic was able to help him out with a lower powered fire ball that hurt the evil Kara. He could have done more but he simply wasn't willing to kill any version of Supergirl.

"Got a plan?" Cyborg asked his comrade in between shots from his sonic canon "Cause we need one".

Even with the arrival of Stargirl, Wildfire and Ace, who were the current Teen Titans, the Tryants were too powerful to defeat. Mostly this was due to the evil Supergirl who was more powerful then anyone else in the city. Had Galatea been here they might have been able to win, but the good guys were outmatched and they knew it.

"Yeah" the other former Teen Titan replied before raising his voice "Everyone fall back to the Tower!"

Cyborg was very surprised by the command to retreat, even if he had also considered it, but that didn't stop him from following the order. Gothic might not actually be a leader of a team, but Jump City was still his to protect, everyone knew that so they listened.

"Cowards!" Tryant Blackfire called out as the Titans fled.

The darker version of Gothic didn't think it cowardly, only a fool would fight a battle he couldn't win.

"Should we go after them?" inquired Tryant Ace "I can find their minds"

She been matched by her own counterpart and was a rather mentally worn out but finding a group of minds wouldn't be that challenging.

"No, let them go" the evil Gothic said "the information is what matters. Anyway this was just round one... wait were is Kara?"

(Line Break)

**Streets – Jump City – May 2003**

The smoke in the ally was so thick that she couldn't see her own hands. She couldn't breathe very well either. Blackfire coughed as she used her powers to create light however her starbolt lit only a few paces in front of her. Her sight was next to useless, but she could hear footsteps, something or someone was moving towards her

"Show yourself!" she demanded.

The person then paused in their steps and Blackfire somehow knew that whoever was after her was now levitating.

Then she heard the whizzing of several projectiles flying towards her. Blackfire yelped as something hit her. She was too badly hurt to dodge out of the way so one of the things had hit her.

Squinting her eyes and peering intently through the smoke. Blackfire then spotted the dark grey silhouette of a person.

Her energy blasts cut through the smoke but hit nothing, the faint figure of her target moved to avoid each shot with such ease it was terrifying, but she had no time to think about it because the figure then flew out from the smoke at her. The force of the blow knocked Blackfire off her feet, and she scrambled backwards on her hands and knees

Finally the dart she had been hit with started to take effect. The dosage had been enough to knock an adult human male out in seconds but the Tamaran was made of sterner stuff. However with her wounds Blackfire could no longer fight the effects.

Within seconds the darkness had claimed her.

(Link Break)

**Safe House – Jump City – May 2003**

I was banging on the door to Raven's room seconds after I heard the scream that had filled the whole house.

"Raven! Raven!" I called even as I prepared to kick the door down.

Three loud stomps sounded and then the door was shoved open so fast it made me stumble back. Raven came running out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Then she threw herself into my arms.

"What's wrong?" I asked

"Jinx, she's... she's dead" Raven told me.

Given that Jinx was an enemy it struck me as odd that Raven would react so badly to getting that news. Then I remembered that despite being on opposite sides they were friends.

"I found her body in my bed" Raven said between sobs "Someone put her body in my bed and she was a zombie. I had to...".

Raven couldn't finish, but she didn't need to. I knew that seeing a friend dead was bad, but a zombie that was so much worse. She'd done the right thing in destroying that creature, the real Jinx would be grateful.

Also I now knew that things were far worse than I imagined. The evil versions of us knew where we lived. Which meant we had to get out of here, or at the very least everyone had to go to the Titan Tower were we had strength in numbers. Leaving it in the first place had been a mistake but we'd had to come here to get some important things. Now I knew that for the foreable future that my house was no longer safe.

But I was not going to the Tower. I was going save Blackfire and the Tryants were not going to stop me.


	42. Chapter 42

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Chapter 42**

**Trigon's Realm**

In my view it was wrong for any father to hate one of his children, but I was really starting to dislike my yet unborn daughter Arella, her altering of the time line had led to me being completely unprepared for the future. I just couldn't imagine what she'd wanted changing so badly that she'd thought it worth jeopardising the time line. Future me had really messed up at some point, he (well it was me) had not raised that girl right.

Also her tampering had rendered the knowledge Starfire had gained during a her own trip to future completely useless. I knew this because I was pretty sure that she would have mentioned someone stealing the Red-X suit, or at very least she would have bother to clue me in on the evil version of me that was going around leaving zombies in people's beds.

Of course I had expected things to turn out different than expected, that was why Starfire had travelled back twenty years, but still having that knowledge had been useful, and now I didn't have it any more.

If I had I might have been able to deal with the fact that I was now in Trigon's realm. I knew it was his because the second I'd arrived that little spell Raven had done to blank out my last trip down here had stopped working. I didn't know why, but I hoped that Ray had been smart enough to realise that I would need those memories if I ever came back down here.

But that was something I could talk to her about later, and I would be talking to her about it even if I did have to wait a while to find a way out of this Hell. I now remembered our first kiss, and how she'd used to fill me with her power, which had knocked me out. Also I'd never actually asked her out she'd just decided that apparently. Not that I minded that last part, but she should have told me.

All that aside I knew couldn't actually just wait for someone to save me as I was in a Hell-dimension, and if was anything like the one Hades ruled then it was possible for me to die down here. Being immortal the prospect of dying was scary, and from I had researched when an immortal died, bad things tended to happen.

Plus I had to consider the fact that this was Trigon's home and I had a bit of his spirit in me, being here could effect the spells keeping him contained. If they broke then I might even become The Destroyer, which was scary, or at the very least I might become some sort of demoniacally possessed immortal warrior.

Knowing that I was in trouble I quickly checked myself over and examined my inventory. Mr Stabby was strapped to my right boot. Both my gauss pistol were attached to my legs just above the knees. I had my utility belt keeping my very sturdy jeans up and I had all sort of tricks stashed in that, and my lightsabre was clipped onto the belt. Also I had light Old One magically enchanted body armour on over my t-shirt and on top of that I wore my magically enchanted leather jacket, the one with the cool little spikes on the shoulders.

I'd even brought my Nth metal chain and sword as while having them so close to my clothes could disrupt the enchantments, that was only a concern when they were conducting electricity as protective spells weren't as badly effected by Nth metal as long as I didn't strike myself when they were charged. Raven had told me it had to do with wards (defensive magic placed on a building or even a person) being static magic and that was a lot hard to disrupt.

Even if all that was taken away from me I still had my spells, my mastery of fire and my cool fighting skills that I had improved greatly while training with Goku. But in case all that still wasn't enough I'd brought the sickle I'd gotten from Reaper. It was a powerful demonic weapon and I hoped that it might hurt the Tyrant Gothic as I had been out hunting for him when I'd somehow ended up here.

The downside to being so well armed was that all the weight would cause me to move more slowly, even with all the training I'd done. This was something I discovered when I was unable to dodge the attack of a figure in black. I got knocked on my ass and looked up to see Reaper. He didn't have the robes on, instead he was wearing an outfit a lot like mine only his arms were exposed and that allowed me to see the red magical symbols he had tattooed on his body.

He still wore the skull mask but without the hood so I now knew he dark purple hair. Not like Raven's the colour remained me of the hair of the witch Tala, which suggested that she was his mother. It wouldn't surprise me if that whacko had done the nasty with Trigon, she had a taste for powerful and cruel men.

"Give it me!" Raven's half-brother ordered.

I'd wondered what had happened to Reaper, and now I knew. Either Raven or Dr Fate had banished him to this dump. That was a nasty thing for her to do to a sibling, but if anyone deserved it then Reaper did.

"The Scythe" the part-demon clarified, as I didn't know exactly what he wanted "Heed my wish and return it".

Who spoke like that? No one said 'Heed my wish' well not any more.

"I know you have it" Reaper then said "I can feel it"

That made sense as it was linked to him. But rather than hand it over I kicked out and got back to my feet.

"Reaper" I said "I'm having a bad day and killing you is going to make me feel so much better".

Since I was pretty sure that he'd been the one to send a fear demon to possess Ray, and he had set a trap for her too at a toy factory, he clearly wanted his half-sister dead and that meant I was going to end him. No one hurt my Raven and got away with it.

"Don't be a fool" Reaper replied "You give me the scythe and we both live. You have no idea what is happening here".

All I could see was rock, lava, and yet more rock. I felt like I was in a more realistic version of the Netherworld in Minecraft. Also I wondered if there was any gold I could mine, but this wasn't the time for such thoughts.

"What is happening here?" I asked.

I'd fought this guy before, his powers of fire had no effect on me and he'd been an inferior fighter to me even before eight months of training. I could crush him, and I'd enjoy it.

"The armies of Nekron are invading" Reaper informed me.

Nekron was the Lord of the Unliving, one of the most powerful figures in the DC Universe, a cosmic force of evil. Although he was a sentient being, Nekron was not alive in the sense a mortal would understand it.

Also he was the ruler of the Land of the Unliving, which was a dimension where souls go before they face final judgment. Well not all souls, some people like myself had patron gods who would take us upon death. Raven had her goddess and I had the Traveller, but the average person would spend time in what passed for Purgotry before moving on.

As an eternal punishment, for some crime or other, Nekron had been imprisoned within that realm, somewhat like how Trigon had been contained in this one.

The origins of Nekron were shrouded in mystery. Nobody knew how he came to rule the Land of the Unliving or whether or not he was at one point a living being. Some of the books about him said that he was the personifcation of the darkness, a primodial evil that predated the existence of life as we know it. Those books, who belonged to a certain lover of mine, also stated that Nekron sought to destroy all life in the universe because life was somehow a threat to him. Those same tomes also stated that the Guardians of the Universe clashed with Nekron close to the beginning of the time and imprisoned him. I also knew the Guardians of the Universe were the beings that had later gone on to create the Green Lantern Core. Not that this helped right now as I did not own a Power Ring and I wasn't a super powerful blue midget either.

As far as I recalled Nekron could not leave his realm, but he did have an army of undead, made up souls who had feared their judgement so much that would rather exist as undead than truely die. But that was just a story.

"Listen to me" Reaper said "Any other day I'd be happy to end you, but I know there's a gateway from this place leading to Jump City".

Both hope and despair filled me then as I realised that while I now had a way out it also meant that the army of the unliving could use it too. The Justice League might be able to beat them back, but the people of Jump City would be slaughtered. I couldn't allow that as my friends would die trying to defend the citizens of that city.

"So here's the deal" Reaper told me "We've both been banished to this realm, but were not true demons so might be able to walk out of here if we can find the door. But neither of us can make it on our own".

Well I was immortal so I wasn't sure about that, but on the other hand if there was an army of the undead around here I might need the help.

"My scythe can kill even the undead" Reaper explained "And my what's left of Trigon's army is fighting the invaders. Which means that Nekron's strongest minions are busy. If we're lucky we'll only have to fight the scouts and those who have gotten seperated from the main host, but neither of us have a chance of getting past them alone".

I didn't remember Reaper being this focused before. Maybe not having the scythe was good for him.

"So we leave together and go our seperate ways once we get out. You can call in the Justice League and they can secure the gateway once I'm gone".

Well that did seem reasonable, but he was a bad guy.

"How do I know you won't betray me?" I asked.

It was a fair question.

"I don't want Nekron taking over what should be my kingdom, but there's nothing I can do about that right now. And the only chance I have of living past tomorrow is to get out of here".

So this was about surival. I could respect that.

"Fine we can work together" I said while giving him the sickle "but if you ever go anywhere near Raven again I will end you. That is a promise".

Which was something my evil counterpart would soon discover. I'd find a way to make him pay greatly for taking Blackfire, and if she dead then immortal or not he'd die. I'd find a way to slay him.

"My sister must be so disapointed" Reaper commented as the sickle once more became a scythe "Size does matter you know".

I decided not to reply to that junville remark. He didn't know his sister at all. Raven really didn't care about size, for her a good lover was someone she trusted as for her sex was about letting someone else take control of her. Hence me tying her up a lot. She needed that not sheer size. Besides that scythe was too big and hard to weild as a weapon, he was the one that was compansating for something, or the lack of something.

"Insurance" Reaper then said as he cut his palm with his weapon "A blood oath between warriors to say that we will fight to esacape this realm and then go our seperate ways without issue".

This was some sort of Blood Magic. Powerful and dangerous but he was making an oath on his blood, breaking that would not end well so I cut my palm with Mr Stabby and we shook hands.

"Get down!"

Reaper pushed me behind a rock formation and for a second I thought the Blood Oath meant nothing, but he'd actually done me a favour. Hundreds of those damn fire demons went whizzing past us. Had I remained standing in their path I'd have been badly hurt at the very least.

"Incendiaries" Reaper said "My father's servents. If they are here then the Army of Unliving is close".

Well he wasn't sounding or acting pscyotic right now, so that was something.

"What exactly are they?" I inquired.

I'd always wanted to know as they didn't seem to be like other demons, and I suspected could be some sort of fire elementals that Trigon had created using his powers. However all I really knew was that they were hard to put down as they could reform, but my Nth metal sword was very effective against them so I knew for a fact they were mystical creatures.

"They are living hellfire constructs" Reaper explained "They served my father as soliders, but they are not demons. They're just extenstions of my father, with no will of their own".

So I'd been right they weren't any sort of people at all

"You don't even know where we are do you?" Reaper asked as we started moving again.

"I've been here before" I told Reaper "This is a Hell-dimension".

While I couldn't see his face I could tell he needed more information.

"We're in a dimension that looks like most people's idea of hell. So it's a Hell-dimension. A realm of existence ruled by demons. We live in a mortal plane of existence were mortals are suppose to be. They are sort of between the different hells and heavens".

Raven had lectured on me on how reality worked on a mystical level. There were other dimesions, like the one I was from, but they were side by side with a thing called the Void keeping them seperate. But each universe also had it's own heaven and hells that were above or below the physical levels of existence. When a new universe was made, or two universes spilt into two, all the heavens and hells, and some other places as well, were also dupiclated for this new universe. It was all very complex, and no human could really understand but I at least a basic understanding of how existence was stuctured.

"That's a way to look at it" Reaper said "As I understand it there are many Infernal Realms like my father's and they are ruled by an Archdemon. Nergal. Asteroth, Abaddon, Morax to name some".

Me I'd called them Hell-gods, as they were beings of god like power who ruled a Hell-dimension. But he was saying the same thing really.

"Nekron rules what some people called Purgatory" Reaper explained as we walked along a rough path "he can not leave that place, but his army can and when they take over this realm that will allow Nekron to spread his influence further. That is why we must seal the door behind us when we leave, so they can't reach Earth".

Now I had a question.

"Why do sound more.." I searched for the right word "Focused".

Reaper was not offend even though I had just said he wasn't as crazy as the last time we met. His speech pattern was different too.

"I think it's because I'm here" he informed me "I feel stronger, and my mind is clearer too".

So he wasn't as crazy as before, or at the very least he was the sort of crazy that allowed him to fuction better. I didn't know if he'd remained this stable once we left, but whatever happened I'd have to deal with him later. I was far more dangerous than Reaper, and there was an evil version of me out there doing the gods only knew what. He had most likely been the one to send me here in order to try to get me out of the way so I had to return no matter what to foil whatever his plan was.

"You should feel stronger too" Reaper then said "You are one of the Sons of Trigon".

I laughed upon hearing that. I might be his heir in some spirtual way because a part of Trigon's essence was stuck inside me, but that didn't make his child in any biological way. But then again an adpoted child was still a son or a daughter and Slade had marked with the same runes that were gently glowing on Reaper's skin.

"The Sons of Trigon?" I promted

Reaper stopped and looked around before answering.

"There are four that I know about Jesse, Jared, Jacob and James".

I didn't panic that didn't mean anything James was a common name.

"I'm Jared, nice to met you James" Reaper said with a smirk I couldn't see but I could hear it "We each embody one of the seven deadly sins so I guess there's more of us out there somewhere. Mines Wrath in case you were wondering. Jacob is lust and Jesse is envy".

At this point I couldn't help but notice that Jared was relaxing around me He was talking to me causally and perhaps on some level he saw us as brothers, not that this was good thing since he'd tried to kill his sister. He so had to some sort of spit personilty disorder, and that made me realise that for all her faults Raven was the most sane of all Trigon's offspring.

As for the sins part well I was left with Sloth, Greed, Gluttony or Pride. Well I did get prideful sometimes, but I wasn't lazy or greedy as while I was rich I'd never tried to acquire anything for the sake of owning it. Gluttony didn't really work either. So I could only assume that it was pride.

"So your always wrathful?" I asked "It would explain alot".

Reaper shook his head as he guided me down another path.

"I guess embody was the wrong word, I can make other people feel wrathful so whatever sin you are will effect people around you".

Maybe Raven had that power sealed up because I didn't think I'd ever induced anything but lust in the people around me. No one wanted my money aside from the odd shopping trip, and given that I could could give people whole houses my girls could ask for a lot. None of my friends were lazy, or ate too much. I must not be using the power.

"Raven's is pride, but she never uses it" Reaper then told me "She surpresses her demonic side".

Well that left me with Sloth, Greed or Gluttony. Not that it mattered as I only used Trigon's pyrokinesis. Still if nothing else I was going to ask Raven why she had never told me any of this as she had to know. Reaper could be lying of course, but I didn't think he was.

I belived him because he was making a lot of sense. I was suppose to be Trigon's heir but I wasn't sitting on a throne ruling this Underworld. And Raven demonic father had three real sons so they should have an equal claim to the throne. In fact Raven had the best claim because killing your sire to claim his realm was perfectly acceptable by the laws demons were govened under. It was still undecided how as no one was in charge down here Trigon's army was just fighting because that was what you were suppose to do when your home was attacked.

Despite how fast my mind was working right now I wasn't so distracted by these thoughts that I failed to notice that there was a small army baring our path. They looked be a mixture of skeletons, some sort of zombies, and there was even a few creatures that looked as if they'd been sown together from different species. There was even a few out there that looked to be alive, at least from the distance.

Most of the warriors were humans from different peroids of time, Romans, Vikings and even a Sameria. I didn't get the impression that these were very impressive examples of Nekron's army but as I couldn't sense their power levels, as they weren't living things, I didn't know for sure.

"We can take them" Reaper said.

Without waiting for me to ready myself the Son of Trigon charged into battle and I had no choice but to back him up. I had to get out of here and find my friends, and I had to save Blackfire. I hadn't forgotten about her.


	43. Chapter 43

**Reviews**

****ThelonewolfNT****

How do people keep guessing these things? I had this whole thing planned ages in advance so I could build up to Gothic going super demon. I even did that Balance side story which just hinted at what the Immortal could do if ever went totally demonic.

****Joe Lawyer****

Who do you think is fighting the Tyrants while Gothic's in Trigon's realm?

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Chapter 43**

**Trigon's Realm**

I soon found my Nth metal sword clashing against the axe of an undead Viking warrior, and as hoped this was not one of Nekron's elite, if it had been then this would have been a fight I couldn't have won. Thankfully the undead Viking warrior was no where near as fast as me and as the charged blade sank into the unliving being the power animating it failed and it crumbled in nothing but bones.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Reaper sweep his scythe through several unliving foes and they exploded. Not in the way a bomb exploded, it wasn't anywhere near that energetic, but it was still impressive to see our enemy turn into nothing more than clouds of dust.

Then I was too busy to watch Raven's half brother fight as I was up against a creature that looked as if it was several people sown together by a madman. The monster came right at me, and I saw that it had weapons attached to it's three arms. They were not metal things, they parts of other creatures. One was a fist covered in horns, another was more a scorpion's tail then anything else, and the last I really couldn't label as anything, but still it looked very dangerous so I would attempt to avoid the arm.

However I had little time to do that as I had to duck under one blow, and then other before leaping into the air so that I could drive my Nth metal sword into one of the abomination's six eyes. For all it's other body parts the thing seemed to have only brain as it dropped to the ground, and to make it sure it was a dead as I could make it I drove my sword into it's oozing back.

That when one of the more normal looking warriors, well normal if this had been the crusades, started running towards me. I didn't panic at all, instead I coolly gripped the handle of my sword, and then when the unliving warrior raised his claymore I slashed at his exposed stomach. Yet the undead's armour somehow managed to protect it, but still I was able to drive the creature to the ground.

"You'll pay for that!" someone else called

I turned just to see another one of them coming at me from the right. This guy could have been Conan the Barbarian given his looks.

"Die!" he yelled.

His axe came down hard, but I was quick on my feet and the weapon just ended up getting stuck in the rocky floor. The crusader reacted to that and came rushing at me I was impressed by fast he could move in the armour, however I was Gothic the Immortal I would not lose to what was pretty much a zombie. But still I was worried as if these were just scouts for Nekron's army then the main host had to be a lot more dangerous, and while I was far above most people in power most human beings would be far outmatched by just these scouts. Which meant if the army of unliving got to Earth then humanity was in trouble.

For now, however I had to focus on this battle. The crusader was now close enough to strike at me, he swung his sword over his head. I blocked and shoved him back. We kept clashing swords like that for a while, until the other warrior recovered his weapon and with a powerful kick I sent the crusader flying so I could take on the other warrior.

"For the slaughter!" the barbarian yelled.

After he was done shouting, I charged at him with a fierce war cry which surpised the undead thing so much that he froze in place, before he could react again my sword removed the unliving's head.

This shocked the crusader, and wondered if the two of them had been friends. Still I didn't dwell on it long and without hesitation I drove my sword through the crusader's neck. This time his armour did not save him.

That was when something roared and I turned to see a four legged creature of some sort moving towards me. If it was an intelligent being or not I didn't know, but I didn't doubt it's intentions. It wanted to kill me.

I took up a fighting stance as the beast roared again and charged me. I screamed a war cry and met it's charge. My plan was to roll low and thrust up into it's stomach, however that plan went to hell when I was ambushed and tackled to the ground by a second monster. My sword flew from my hand as the second beast tackled me.

Then had me pinned to the floor one of it's four massive feet. My hand grouped for my sword but I couldn't find it and I wondered if I would die down here like in Tartarus, only this time the god of the underworld wouldn't bring me back to life.

That was when I decided that I didn't want to find out if I'd get an afterlife. I let the rage swell inside me and I burst into demonic flames which spread rapidly. The monster pinning me down instantly turned to dust. I rolled over and saw my sword laying on the ground only few feet from me.

I knew there was that second monster somewhere around here so I made a sprint for the sword. In what felt like a heartbeat I snatched up the sword and spun around to find my self face to face with the other monster. My instincts took over as I drove my sword into one of it's three eyes.

It bellowed in pain as I with with drew my sword, took a step back and then with other hand I channelled enough demonic flame to incinerate the massive unnatural beast.

That was when I noticed a horde of unliving heading towards us. They were across a river a lava on a narrow pathway that jutted out of the rock face, and I knew that I needed to destroy them utterly or they would keep chasing us. So I decided to us the Kamehamha.

The Kamehameha had been invented by Master Roshi, the man had taught it to Goku who had in turn taught it to me. The attack pretty much involved expelling an explosive beam of ki energy out of the hands. But for me things were a different. I had ki, as all living things did, but I didn't just channel that I was able to tap into Trigon's spirit to create an attack of both ki energy and demonic fire. To do this I had to take of the Nth metal chain and let go of my sword, but that didn't take very long.

_"Ka..Me..Ha...Me!"_ I chanted while gathering my power.

Then a beam of red energy lanced across the air to impact the army of the unliving, the sheer destructive power destroyed the path and when the dust settled there was nothing left to threaten me. In fact the cliff face had been blow apart it looked like a barrage of missiles had hit it. Trigon's ghost had to be stronger down here to have given me that much power.

There was also nothing else for me to kill so I turned as I heard the sound of metal on metal, and I saw that Reaper was having some trouble with another barbarian, but to his credit the were lots of piles of dust around him which meant he'd destroy many of our mutual foes.

Without thinking, I ran into battle. I swung my sword at the unliving with all my might and the barbarian was soon bisected down the middle.

"Nice job" Reaper complimented

That was when I saw Raven appear out of nowhere and blast Reaper with dark energy. Then when the part demon tried to get up more dark energy was used to keep in place. He now pinned against the wall.

"You're not my Raven" I soon realised

Well she was Raven, but the Ray I knew wouldn't wear such an outfit, which was actually a shame she could do with a new crime fighting uniform. She been wearing the same style of outfit for years.

"Clever boy" she praised.

I was about to ask what she wanted but the chance to was taken away.

"Your sin is greed" Evil Raven told me "I was listening in before and I knowing you like I do I knew you were wondering which of the so called seven deadly sins you could infect others with".

"I'm not greedy" I said defensively

I'd just given away entire houses, that was not the action of selfish person.

"Yes you are" debated Tyrant Raven "its your sin. You hoard money, wealth, power, even the people you love. You don't share your resources and you don't make good use of them. But you don't have to embody a sin to infect others with it".

At first I wanted to deny what she had just said, but she had a point. I might not be totally selfish but I was not that generous either, at least not as much as I should be. I could help people many more with my powers. And I didn't need all the money I had. Also I liked to keep my girls close even when they be better off finding different lives elsewhere. And I wanted more. I wanted a successful business, more money, more resources, and even more power.

"Now let's get on with business" Evil Raven said, once I had absorbed what she had told me "You're wondering how to stop this war and I can tell you exactly how".

I decided to listen, not to trust, just to listen but only because I did not want the Army of the Unliving to find a way out of this Infernal Realm and into plane of existence I called home.

"You need to go sit on the throne" the darker version of Raven then said "and then claim rulership of this realm. When that happens Nekron's army will have to withdraw".

"How?" I asked "I mean in theory how would I do that?"

Claiming ownership of a Hell-dimension couldn't be a simple thing. Not that I intended to do such a thing, but was an interesting subject and it was always a good idea to gather more information before acting.

"You just sit on the throne" Evil Raven said in reply "It's a symbolic act".

Okay so maybe it really was simple.

"Then if Nekron still wants this realm he will have send his champion to face your champion, which is fine because even his top guys won't be a match for you once you accept the power of Trigon".

"I don't want to be a Hell-god" I told the darker version of Raven.

The power sounded nice but I was human and proud, my species had it's flaws, but overall we were better than demons and that meant something. Plus I wanted to stop being so greedy.

"I don't want to live here and rule a hell" I added.

That was the other reason. Even I gained god like power from the act it would be rather useless to me as I'd be stuck down here lording it over demons while being unable to actually live my life.

"I'm the Queen of the Underworld" Evil Raven said "Well I am in my universe, but I don't have to live there you can return to Earth because your human, you won't be as powerful up there, but just being the Lord of The Underworld will end this war and save your world".

So I wouldn't be a king so much as a Lord Regent then. That was less impressive but it didn't matter as long as the world was saved from the unliving forces that threatened it. And if I could leave then taking the throne wouldn't be such a big deal. The extra power could come in handy as Nekron was still a threat and might find a way for his undead warriors to make it to Earth.

"Or he could do it" she said while pointing a the pinned Reaper "but then he'd have armies and he might be able to leave too. I didn't banish him here so I don't know the conditions".

Which meant she'd banished me here. She didn't say that, but she'd sort of applied it at least.

"Why did you send me here?" I asked.

At first I had assumed it was to get me out of the way, but now I understood that really this was all part of some big scheme.

"Because I took a peek and saw what was going on down here. You see in my reality my Gothic and I killed Trigon. Then I took the throne, but here no one did and now the entire realm is up for grabs".

My Raven served Balance, and this didn't seem balanced so really she should be doing something about this.

"Now are you going to let that monster rule an entire hell?" Tyrant Raven questioned while gesturing to Reaper "Or are you going to take what's rightfully yours?".

That was when I felt the desire to kill Reaper fill me but the Blood Oath must have kicked in because I couldn't bring myself to do it. Then when I took a few deep breathes to clam myself like I had often done in training I realised that my emotions weren't all my own. Evil Raven was manipulating me into taking that throne. Which meant I couldn't take it because doing that was part of whatever plan she had cooked up.

"Of course you have to remove your rival first" Evil Raven then said.

By that she meant Reaper, as he had an equal claim to ownership of his father's realm, and right now the killer was totally helpless, but I had made a blood oath so I couldn't harm him. So the question now was this: Had she seen us perform that little ritual or not? Because if she hadn't then she didn't know that getting me to attack Reaper would result in some bad things happening to me, or was she be goading me into trying to kill him so that those awful would happen to me.

Thinking fast, while also trying to not to feel any strong feelings Evil Raven might be able to sense, I picked up my Nth metal chain and moved over to Reaper. He seemed to have forgotten about the blood oath as right now he was panicking as I approached him.

"Let him go" I instructed Dark Raven "and then I'll tie him up with this. I want to take my time killing him".

She didn't reply but she did as I told her and when she did I swung the chain. But rather than strike Reaper it ended up wrapping around Evil Raven's neck and before she could react to that I activated the device that electrified the chain. The shocks hurt but I was able to ignore them, and I was also able to wrap the chain around her.

Dark Raven dropped the ground and started thrashing about. She couldn't use her powers to escape due to the Nth metal and the fact that she wasn't able to focus thanks to the shocks. It was almost funny, but at the same time it was upsetting because this eviller version of Ray didn't look at all different from mine, aside from the outfit, and it felt more than a little wrong to enjoy her suffering.

"You fucking bastard" Tyrant Raven swore "You'll pay for this... when I get free... I'm going to kill everyone you ever cared about".

I had just been about to walk away as I could never kill any version of Raven, but now she had threatened the people I wanted to protect I knew just couldn't leave her here.

Than was Reaper acted and did the hard work for me. He picked Raven up and despite getting shocked he was able to throw her into the stream of lave below. Much how Darth Vader destroyed the Emperor in Return of the Jedi, only with it being a heroic sacrifice and there was no explosion of evil power either.

That was when the ground started the rumbled and there was actually a big explosion, the next thing I knew the ground was shaking and I tried to fly away but something hit me and then things went dark.

(Line Break)

****Under Jump City****

The next thing I knew I was waking up next to a big door that was somewhere underground. My clothes were tattered and I had some dried blood on me, but other than I felt fine. I even still had my sword and my guns they didn't look damaged.

However I was still worried as I had no idea how long I'd been in a coma, and also I didn't know how I had gotten out of that Hell-dimension. After thinking about it I guessed that Reaper must have kept his blood oath and carried me out before leaving, and thinking that got me wondering if he had gone back in to try to claim his father's throne as his own. If he had then at least that would buy some time as Nekron would have to win control of the realm another way.

With this in mind I tapped the comm device in my ear.

"Gothic to Watchtower" I said.

I got nothing but static in reply, but given that I had to be deep underground I wasn't worried. I could see a path that led upwards and I figured that once I got closer to the surface I would be able to send a signal to the Watchtower and then I could inform the Justice League about what was happening down here.

So with no reason to stay I picked myself up and dusted myself off before starting to walk along the path that would get back to the world I knew.


	44. Chapter 44

**Author Note**

I hope you all enjoying reading about just how powerful Gothic the Immortal is when he shows people what it means to be the Heir of Trigon. And Goku's training was very much worth it.

**DC Gothic – Justice League**

**Chapter 44**

**Ruins of Jump City**

Rain started to pour down from the sky, soaking every thing in view yet that did nothing to clean the mess up. The city had been destroyed and as I flew about it all I felt very disconnected from the horrible scene, despite all the dead bodies, and parts of bodies, I could see littering the ground.

Still while I was emotional detached from the sickening sight around me I still searched desperately for any trace of the Teen Titans or my other friends, but I struggled to see anything that moved even my ability to sense life energy didn't help as I couldn't sense anything at all. Which meant that no one had been left alive.

All around me I could see signs of an epic battle. Entire chunks of earth had been ripped out of the ground and then smashed down again. That was Terra's handiwork no doubt. Also I saw blast marks that had to be the work of a certain sexy alien princess. However I still found no signs of life, even the leaves on the trees had turn brown and fallen to the ground.

When I saw an odd sight on a roof top and I lowered myself to the ground to get a better look. I was disgusted by what I saw, a group of creatures were eating a body and upon noticing me they decided to come after my much fresher meat.

"_Explosive Fireball!. Explosive Fireball!. Explosive Fireball!"._

That cleared the roof and left me free to examine the body. To my surprise it was Red-X, his mask was gone but his face wasn't too badly disfigured to let me figure out who he was. Also he was somehow still alive.

"You're not shocked to see me" the dying man said.

I shrugged before answering.

"Not much surprises me any more" I said "So I guess you're another version of me from an alternate universe".

At this point it was practically mundane.

"No.. clone" Red-X said between coughs of blood "Cadmus made me".

Well that explained why he wasn't healing. He wasn't immortal like me.

"Hold on I think I have some...".

Before I could recover one of the few Senzu Beans I was carrying the clone of me expired. I had no power to bring back the dead, and frankly there were enough unliving things around as it was, so I cremated the body with my power so at least nothing would desecrate this corpse before I took off again.

I eventually found myself on the roof of Titan Tower and saw Blackfire lying in a puddle of water. The rain water was stained with her alien blood and to make even this nightmare worse her body was on top of Wildfire, like she had died trying to shield her brother from some attack. The blasted remains of the unliving were all around here. I knew it was them because I'd destroyed many of them myself.

"Blackfire!" I yelled. "No No No No No No!"

I gritted my teeth as I began to fill up with two emotions. Rage and utter despair. It enraged me so much see what those unliving bastards had done and yet at the same time I felt empty, like a huge part of me had also died. I'd so badly wanted to save her when she'd disappeared, but I hadn't been able to and worse than that she died because I hadn't been here to project her when she needed me.

Then some terrible thoughts filled me as I raced inside the Tower. The new Titans were all here only really they weren't really here as they were dead. Stargirl was gone, so was Ace and even the new kids. I had never gotten a chance to know them, and now I never would.

They were all dead and so was Raven. Her body was cold, and there was blood all over her.

"RAVEN. RAVEN. RAVEN!" I screamed as loudly as I could.

Then I felt an uncontrollable rage grow within me, as I screamed again. I felt my blood start to pump around my body. I clenched my fists so tight that blood leaked through my fingers.

The rain that was falling through a hole in the roof started to evaporate I could see the steam and then I smelt smoke as things all around me caught on fire. As the demonic fire overwhelmed me I cremated the dead bodies as the entire Tower burned.

I didn't care, nature itself seemed to rage with me as bolts of lightening filled the sky. One struck so close to me that I was blinded for a second and when my vision cleared I found that the top of the Tower was just gone. I was floating in the air as fire streamed all around me.

Also I saw several winged creatures heading my way and my anger went from undirected rage to calculating hate. I could sense no life in the things that were coming towards me and when their features became visible I could see that they were unliving things. Like zombie birds, only they had human characteristics as well.

Not that I cared I just lifted my arm and sent a massive exploding fireball at them which cleared the skies. But it did nothing to sate my wrath, if anything it only increased my desire to destroy. And I got that desire fulfilled very quickly it was as if they been drawn to me, dozens of unliving things of all shapes and sizes appeared around the base of the Tower. Maybe they meant to climb up in order to get to me. It didn't matter because I rained fireballs down on the them and the tower collapsed.

Still that wasn't enough to make me feel even a little less wrathful so I went looking for more to creatures to blow up and burn.

What I found next was a rift of some sort, a few unliving things were guarding the rip in the fabric of reality however they were no threat to me. I brought forth a fireball bigger than myself and I swept across the street in order to destroy the undead warriors. Then I let the flames destroy a gas station simply because something moving was over there.

I didn't even watch the place go boom as something whizzed past my head, missing me by mere centimetres. I turned to see Metallo standing there, while lifting a whole car. He looked different, like he'd rusted even though he wasn't made of iron.

"Hah I knew if I waited you'd come back" here the machine man said "and now I can have my revenge. Killing your friends wasn't enough".

As impossible as it seemed he somehow managed to make me ever madder and my world turned turned green for a second. When my vision cleared I found Metallo picking himself up off the ground. His rusting body had two even holes in the chest and I smiled when I realised that I could now shoot laser beams out of my eyes. Only it wasn't a smile of joy it was one of malevolent satisfaction and that scared the undead robot man.

"Let me guess you agreed to serve Nekron rather than face hell" I said the unliving cyborg thing "well to bad for you because I am about make a hell just for you".

Again it all went green and when my vision cleared once more Metallo took even longer to stand up than before.

"I wonder what happens when I kill you?" I said, while not actually caring "I mean you're already dead, so tell me can you die twice?"

Metallo was to frightened to reply, and I didn't give him much chance to either. I just fired my eyes beams and figured out to make it last longer. Then I fired some more and by the time I was finished there was nothing left of Metallo aside from bits of scrap metal.

With that done I headed for the rip in the skin of reality and I was about to step through it when there was a flash of light. I turned to see Shayera Hol running up to me. Before I could do anything other than stop channel demonic energy into my aura she had me in a hug, but I quickly pushed her off me. I had no time for such things.

"You're alive" she said happily.

I was in no mood for talk, but I still spoke.

"Of course I'm alive" I replied "I'm an immortal we don't die like other people do".

With that I turned and headed closer to the rift. I was about to put the whole immortality thing to the test. I didn't care as now I had nothing left to live for.

"Where are you going?" Shay asked, as it wasn't very obvious.

"The Land of the Unliving" I answered "I'm going to find Nekron and make him pay for what's he done".

That idea was not met with approval.

"You can't" Shay protested "This all started because that other version of you died. If you die too it will just make things worse.

I decided to humour her, if only because I was now recalling the Nekron could kill immortals. He had that kind of power.

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

Shayera grabbed onto me before answering.

"Some nutjob called Reaper killed the other you, and he died right here and that rift appeared" the winged woman explained "I was here I saw it and Doctor Fate told us that if you die to the rift will expand. Nekros had thousands, maybe even millions of soldiers, here already if that rift grows then even worse things will be enter our universe".

I didn't think it would work I was in the Land of the Unliving when I died, but on the other hand if I died I couldn't vengeance on Reaper as this just as much his fault. He must have tried to kill the other me after getting me out of Trigon's realm. Why he'd done that I could only speculate, maybe he'd actually been trying to do me a favour, but he'd fucked things up and gotten my Raven killed. Which meant he might as well kill himself now because that was the only thing that would stop me from murdering him.

"We need you in Metropolis" Shay now saying "The undead army has magic users so they were able to teleport there before we could prepare".

Frankly I didn't care. Everyone I loved was already dead and by the sounds of things the rest of the world would be joining them in the afterlife. So really I had no reason to go and die trying to hurt Nekron.

"Karen needs you"

That stopped me in my tracks.

"She's alive" I stated rather than asked.

If she'd been able Shay would have provided me with more information, but that was made impossible when something swooped in and batted her aside with no effort.

A fresh surge of anger ran through me as I saw Shayera harmed like that, and when I saw who had hurt her I had something to focus my rage upon. It was the Nazis Superman who had killed during an invasion some time ago. He was back, in unliving form, and I had no doubt that he had come her to seek revenge for his own death.

"Sterben!"

I didn't speak German, but since the Third Reich lover punched me so hard that I coughed up some blood, it was pretty clear what he wanted. Him wrapping his hands around my neck was another big clue. Also those hands were covered in blood that wasn't human. I'd never seen Blackfire bleed, but somehow I knew it was her blood in this monster's hands.

That was what gave me the strength I needed. I moved my arms so that they were between his and then pushed. The Ubermensh was strong, and I couldn't use Old One spells without speaking but I was still channelling the power of Trigon's spirit so once more I infused my aura with demonic flame and that hurt the Nazis version of Superman.

Then before he could recover from the shock of being burned I punched him the face so hard I heard at least one of my fingers break. But that didn't stop me from hitting him some more.

It hurt like hell to pound the unliving Nazis, but the pain meant nothing as I was venting what seemed to be an endless amount of rage. I didn't care that tapping this much into my demonic powers might forever taint me. Nor did I care if I even survived. All I wanted to do was to hurt the abominations who killed the people I cared about. The fact the undead thing could still bleed as well, just made it all the sweeter.

That was when the tide of battle turned against me. I felt a sudden pain in my chin and then next thing I knew I was inside what remained of an office building. Then I saw the Ubermensh, he was standing outside the building looking at me through the broken window and his eyes were glowing red. I expected to get him, but I saw green and when my vision cleared Third Reich Superman hadn't moved an inch. As little sense as it made I guessed that the energy we could both admit from our eyes had blocked each other's attacks.

"_Explosive Fireball!" _I roared.

The arrogant alien took the attack, rather than try to dodge, and then it was him landing inside a building.

"_Explosive Fireball!""Explosive Fireball!""Explosive Fireball!"_

"_Explosive Fireball!""Explosive Fireball!""Explosive Fireball!"_

"_Explosive Fireball!""Explosive Fireball!""Explosive Fireball!"_

The already heavily damaged building began to collapse just as Titan Tower had and I went the dust settled I tried to detect Nazis Superman's energy. I sensed nothing and smiled, but then I stopped as I remembered that the ability didn't allow me to sense the undead.

Ubermensh confirmed that he had survived my attack my hitting me in the back so hard that I landed on the street. Then before I could pick myself up something broke my back. It was the worse pain and I ever felt and I found that while I could move my arms I couldn't move much else.

Thankfully that was enough as my healing factor combined with a magic bean healed me in record time. As amazing as that was I found it more than a little surprising that the Nazis Superman had left me alone long enough for me recover from the last below.

When I stood up I saw why. The Ubermensh had picked up Shayera, and now that he saw that I was standing up again he used her body as a shield. The fiend with Clark Kent's face nothing like the Superman of this world, he never would have used a person like this.

I was still mad, but my concern for Shay calmed me down and I began to think more clearly. I needed to use Old Magic to switch myself with Shayera and then before the surprise wore off I'd burn him at close range.

As the first word of the Old One spell left my mouth the Ubermensh snapped Shay's neck, and that stopped me from talking. The Nazis even dared to laugh, and I decided then that was last mistake this freak would ever make. He was going to pay.

Fire roared around me as I screamed to express my hate. The storm started up again and the heavens themselves seemed to weep as even more rain fell from the sky. The lightening seemed to be throwing itself at me and things all around burst into flames despite being soaking wet. Even the ground shook as I raged.

"I WILL FUCKING MURDER YOU!"

Before even a version of Superman could react to my movement my fist was impacting with the Nazis's jaw. My enemy span and hit a car that it was more or less in one piece, at least until I blew it up. Then I landed on top of him and tried to break his back.

Then I desired to contain the abomination and ropes made of fire flew from my hands and bound the Ubermensh. They burned him as he struggled and then brought me enough time to not only to rise into the air, but also to form a huge fireball that was fuelled by all the emotional pain I was feeling. I imagined then that from a distance it must have been an awesome sight, but I didn't dwell on that. Instead I named the attack.

"_Meteor Strike!"_

The massive fireball hit the ground and went boom, by the time the smoke cleared all that was left of the evil Superman was a charred and twisted corpse. I dropped to the ground and then walked over to the remains. To my amazement the Nazis was still alive and he even spoke to me before I said the last words he would ever hear.

"That was for Shayera, you son of bitch!"

Since he'd already died once I knew that I had to utterly destroy the body to make sure he wouldn't come back again. So I stamped on his hand until there was nothing left but fragments of bones and then I walked over to a car, lifted with ease, and brought it crashing down on what was left.

Maybe I could have stopped at this point, but there was no reason to. My body was still able to handle the raw power I was using and I knew that out there somewhere Karen might still be alive.

With that in mind I took the air, going as high as I dared, and searched for living energy. I found a strong source at the very edge of my senses, given the distance it meant that it had to be a group of powerful people together. I dared to hope it was the Justice League and I flew off in that direction.

That was when I remembered the bike Kara had built for me and I whistled for the Spazfrag while hoping it hadn't been destroyed. Seconds later the flying motorcycle was flying right towards me, but before it could reach me there was a terrible flash of might, and I saw a mushroom cloud shaped explosion. The sight was incredible and totally silent, at least until the shock wave hit and my Spazfrag hit me as I was blown around like a leaf in a gale force wind.


End file.
